The New and the Old
by Noeyyy
Summary: It's been 7 years* and a heck of a welcoming back. Mikan was already failing maths, making new friends  and a boyfriend  and it just felt plain good. But, school life has a lot in store for you Mikan, just you wait. Full summary inside. Natsumikan!
1. PROLOGUE: A WHOLE NEW WORLD

*It has been less than seven years, but I decided to go with what the original story said.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or Higuchi Tachibana's characters. I do not own and did not write 'A Whole New World', lainey-chan did.

Summary: Mikan is back. But after seven years* out on the battlefield, will she be able to face the demands of high school? Old faces (Hotaru, Natsume and many more) and new faces (OC! - including a new maths tutor), what will Mikan's life be like?

PROLOGUE: A WHOLE NEW WORLD

This story has been adapted from 'A Whole New World' by Lainey-chan.

Since I can't just copy her story and paste it here. I can describe the events. Basically, Mikan has just come back after seven years to the Academy after defeating the ESP. Simple right. Well the storyline goes, she come back in the dead of night, steals a uniform from Narumi's office. Decides to visit Natsume first, ends up sleeping there (and discovering their feelings were still the same). Next morning, she can't get Natsume to wake up, she yanks him out of bed and drags him (still in his pjs) to class. As she enters the class, Natsume vanishes.

I really liked the story (and was frustrated it wasn't continued), so I decided to continue it, adding my own plot. I started this about half a year ago, abandoned it and recently kept it going. So you may find a difference between the writing style of chapter 1-5 and 6+.

Please Enjoy,

Noeyyy


	2. Chapter 1: EXPLANATIONS

CHAPTER 1: EXPLANATIONS

I took the seat next to my best-est friend in the world whom I missed too much. It felt so brilliant to be with her again. I spared a glance around the room and saw all of my old friends: Anna, Koko, Inchou and Ruka. I waved at him... he smiled uneasily and looked away. Even Sumire was here, although she seemed to be torn between being happy to see an old face or becoming angry to see me again...

"Up here, Mikan," said Jin Jin sternly. "Your sudden arrival is no means for you to distract the whole classroom."

"Sorry, sir," I said quickly.

The class went by normally. I, of course, didn't get half the things that the teacher said. I was frequently being told to pay attention. But, how could I? It's so surreal to be back here again. My best friend seemed as annoyed as Jinno-sensei. Hotaru kept nudging me with some new invention. I will have several bruises tomorrow. She was sitting abnormally close to Inchou...

The bell rang and we were dismissed. Outside, I sat with Hotaru and all of my old friends under the Peach tree.

"Mikan! Why are you back?" asked Anna. "Isn't it dangerous?"

"She beat the Elementary School Principal!" exclaimed Koko. Great, he's only seen me for an hour and he's already reading my thoughts.

At this, I was bombarded with questions. Most of them asking what happened. I sighed and decided they might as well know, there's no point in not telling them. It was this reasoning and Hotaru's tell-me-or-else look that made me tell them.

"Well, where do I begin... So, after my mother, Narumi-sensei and I left the school we were always on the move. We couldn't risk someone catching us or even tailing us. Our teleportation Alices helped a lot. Shiki came with us too. He was very useful in putting up barriers. We kept on the move for several months until we met at checkpoint with High School Principal. We devised a plan on how to overthrow the Elementary School Principal. It would take a while but it was the only way.

"Mother and I pinpointed the whereabouts of all of the ESP's clones. It surprised us how many there were, all over the world. Over two dozen at that. We tracked them down, one by one, stealing their Alices. It took us years. Finally, only the original ESP was left. He was suspicious by then and it was very difficult to catch him. After many trials and errors, we finally got him. We had split up and I had found him hiding in a heavily guarded prison. I... spoke... with him and stole his Alice. He's a heartless man. I'm glad to be rid of him.

"He was arrested by the government yesterday morning. I said goodbye to mother and Shiki, but they promised to drop by as soon as their names were cleared. We parted and I got here last night. So, here I am."

My audience was silent.

Hotaru broke the silence by slyly asking, "You got here last night. I suspect it was late...So where did you sleep last night?"

I felt my face turn red as my friends looked at me expectantly. "I...um," I began. But before I could get a proper answer out –

"In my room," said a deep voice behind me.

"Natsume!" cried a few of my friends, including Sumire, who seemed especially shocked. Her surprise melted away into annoyance. He was dressed in uniform now, unlike when I left him, or rather, when he left me.

"Again?" asked Anna, she probably couldn't restrain the mischief. I felt my face go hotter as I nodded slightly.

I desperately tried to think of something else. I looked around me searching for something else to talk about. That was when I saw that Hotaru and Inchou were holding hands.

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**AN: Sorry it was so short, I wrote this a long time ago and only recently continued it. I will get the next few chapters up soon. Reviews are appreciated ^ ^.**


	3. Chapter 2: THAT MUCH

**Ok, guys, here's my next chapter. It's actually a good length. I updated quick because the last chapter was pretty short.**

CHATPER 2: THAT MUCH

"!" I nearly broke everyone's eardrums screaming it.

When I finished however, I saw that Hotaru and Koko already had their ear muffs on. Go figure. At least this means Hotaru knows the reason for my outburst.

"What's wrong Mikan?," asked Anna.

"Ask Hotaru," I said stiffly.

"...hn?" was all she said.

"Oh don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!" I nearly yelled.

She looked at where I was staring pointedly. She took one look at her hands, which were intertwined with Inchou's, and slowly looked back up to me.

"I'm going out with Inchou," she said plainly and dismissively. Inchou began to blush. What? Oh my goodness! She, Imai Hotaru, my best friend in the entire universe was going out with Inchou Tobita, in our class! Wow! I began to wonder who dominated in this relationship... as if I didn't know the answer already. Waah! Hotaruu.

I allowed the words to build up before I burst out, "OH MY GOODNESS HOTARU, YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME RIGHT AWAY? INCHOU? HOW LONG HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN GOING OUT?"

Once again, Koko and Hotaru already had their earmuffs on while the rest of the crowd probably had shattered eardrums.

She replied calmly, "Yes, Mikan, I have a boyfriend. It 'happened' 27 months ago when Tobita asked me out. I said yes and that was that. You just got here, besides I knew you'd figure it out, hence the earmuffs. Yes, Inchou, and as I said, 27 months." She continued eating her food as if nothing happened. I processed this all, trying to remember the order in which I asked the questions.

"B-b-but..."I stuttered, clearly dumbfounded.

"Geez, Mikan, your not the only one allowed to have a love interest," Sumire scolded, looking coldly from Natsume to myself. "Besides, we're all much older now."

Oh yeah, how selfish of me. Oh dear, I'm blushing again. I glanced at Natsume. He had the most unreadable poker face on. I guess it didn't bother him.

I guess I shouldn't dwell on that. A switch flicked at the back of my brain. Cheery me decided to come out... with a bang. I practically bounced off the surroundings as I squealed very audibly towards Hotaru.

"Hotaruuu! I'm soo happy for you. You and Inchou make the cutest couple. Two smart three stars. Awwwww... I bet you guys sit together everyday and in class. Do you walk... or ride... to school together everyday? You must tell me everything that's happened since -"

_Baka! Baka! Baka!_

I forgot she had that. I rubbed my head. Stupid baka gun.

"This is not the time Mikan," she said.

I mentally agreed. Mostly because I would have enough bruises for tomorrow.

I turned my attention to the rest of my friends. I was still sulking from the blows.

"So, guys, tell me everything that's happened since I left. Anna? Koko? Ruka? Sumire? Natsu -"

But he was already gone... again.

"Wha – Where'd he go? Don't tell me he left me again!" I whined.

"Shows how much he cares about you," Sumire said smugly.

Oh well, I'll get him back for it later.

"So... what's happened?" I insisted.

"Well," Ruka started, "it was chaos at the school for a while once you left. Fukutai were everywhere and we were all in custody. Once they decided you wouldn't be coming back, they eased their grip a bit. After a few months, everything went back to normal. We sorta knew we had succeeded however they kept close eyes on us, as your supporters. We couldn't really do much but continue to live and learn and hope that you were succeeding..." He trailed off.

"But no one missed you more than Natsume," pointed out Koko. This child does not seem to care about anyone's privacy. "He went through what I call 'Natsume's Three Stages of Depression'. First stage: after you left, he became really angry. He was frustrated that he couldn't protect you. He went into ballistic self-punishment mode and began to over exert himself using his Alice on all of the fukutai he could get his hands on. They couldn't capture him or subdue him he just kept coming at them. He worked and exerted himself so much that he collapsed. He went into a really serious coma."

"Natsume...!" I gasped.

Koko continued, "He was out for at least two weeks but thanks to Imai, Subaru Imai, that is, he made a recovery. His Alice was really fragile after that. Things were beginning to settle while he was unconscious and once he came to, he went into stage two. He became emo and didn't use his Alice at all. I guess (though we all knew Koko didn't 'guess') he thought that you would want him alive when you came back, Mikan. He was intent on waiting patiently, sort of a hopeless cause. He was very anti-social and didn't talk to anyone but Ruka."

"See what you did to him, Mikan!" cried Sumire frostily.

Koko went on, "After a while, and a lot of persuasion from Ruka and blackmail from Hotaru, he started talking to everyone again: stage three. He had to get to this stage eventually, we couldn't let him spend how ever many years under a blanket. It sort of went back to the way life was back in elementary school, before you came."

"That's that way it should've always been!" sulked Sumire.

After once again being interrupted he concluded, "Well, life continued on, Imai and Inchou started dating (Koko received an icy stare from Hotaru), the cycle goes on. And now your back!"

Natsume... why didn't he tell me? I never thought that would... Oh, Natsume! He really cared that much... silly Natsume...he really missed me that much...

I snapped out of it. I'd confront him later.

"So any other couples?" I asked to the crowd.

I walked up to Ruka. "Ruka-pyon, you must have a girlfriend!"

He seemed a little embarrassed. His face was going redder.

"Um... not really," he mumbled.

"Ruka-kun prefers to stay a bachelor, thank you very much," interrupted Sumire. I guess she had tried and that was her reply.

"Ok then, anyone else?" I asked. "No... ok."

The bell rang again. Break's over.

* * *

**AN: School starts again for me on Monday, so I won't be writing as much (never fear, I have a 15 chapter headstart... yeah). Hope you enjoyed. Reviews, once again, are appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 3: HOW HARD IT IS

**This basically the first fluff in this story - and you better believe there's more to come.**

**I wrote the first 5 chapters or so a few month before the last ones so there may be a change in writing style (and the story basically develops from AFTER chapter 6), nonetheless, I hope you enjoy. This is still one of my favourite chapter ^ ^.**

CHAPTER 3: HOW HARD IT IS

Mathematics. One thing you don't progress in after seven years away from school education are equations and fractions. It was a struggle not to raise my hand for every question I came across. Inchou was nice enough to _try_ to explain it all, but I guess I had just missed too much. That, or I'm just plain dumb. Hotaru must have concluded the latter and so simply put her helmet on and did her work.

I was nearly in tears by the end of class. I breathed the biggest sigh of relief as the bell sounded.

"Mikan," said the teacher.

"Hn?" I responded.

"You have missed a great deal of work while you were away. We may have to enter you into a tutoring program."

"Um, ok."

"A tutor will be selected for you by the end of the week... unless you have any suggestions."

I ran this through my mind. I knew the perfect person! Of course, I yelled, "Hotaru will do it!"

He looked at Hotaru, who was standing by the door, "Miss Imai, are you willing to do this?"

"I'm far too busy," she stated. "Besides, you can't teach a stupid dog any tricks."

"H-H-Hotaru?" Rejection.

B-b-but, Hotaru! She walked away leaving me shattered and, once more, on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry Mikan," said the teacher sympathetically, I guess he thought that was a little harsh too. "I shall have to arrange a tutor for you."

I nodded and raced out the door to whine at Hotaru. But when I got to the hallway, I found myself alone. Hotaru was no where in sight. I sighed and began walking towards my Special Ability Class. As I walked alone, I found myself wondering who would tutor me. And then –

"Polka!"

"Natsume!" I cried, happy to see him. I rushed towards him. Then I remembered what I had heard during break.

"Natsume! How could you?" I said, my voice suddenly stern. "I can't believe what you did after I left! You could've hurt yourself really badly. You shouldn't go doing those things for me. It doesn't help anyone."

"They dobbed on me, did they?" he said, a glint in his crimson eyes suggesting a plan for revenge brewing in his brain.

"Yes they did. And don't you go reprimanding them about it either. I left this school so that I wouldn't hurt anyone any more. How do you think it feels to come back and find out I had caused that much pain?" I nearly choked.

I waited for his smart-alec comeback, which he always had ready. Instead he said something so unexpected, "Do you know how hard it is to live without you?"

Speechlessness hit me. I stuttered, "Na-natsume..."

But before I could properly respond, he grabbed my waist and pulled me towards him. And then... and then he kissed me. It felt like a long-restrained relief kiss. What is with this guy and unexpected kisses?

After a few stunned moments, I kissed him back. I guess you could count this a belated 'nice to see you again' greeting. We stayed there basking in each other's presence. He was real.

Our lips parted and he said, "There, I'm all better now. So will you stop scolding me and listen to what I have to say?"

Hm? Oh right. I was still a bit dazed. Wait... he had something to say? I shut up and listened (yes, this is entirely impossible had it been anybody else, in any other situation).

"You were headed to your Special Ability Class, right?" he began.

"Mmhm, has it changed rooms?"

He smirked. "No, you're not in Special Ability any more, remember?"

Wh- oh yeah! It all came back to me now! I was in dangerous ability, that's right. Baka!

"Were you sent here to fetch me?" I asked as realisation became apparent on my face.

"No," he replied. "I just thought you wouldn't be smart enough to figure it out yourself."

It's nice to know that he cares.

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**Ok, I hope you liked that. The next chapter should be up well withing the next 3 days (and if I get lots of reviews, the sooner :P).**


	5. 4 I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU

**Thank you for the reviews and favourites! I really appreciate them. And so, the next chapter is up within 2 days, also since the last one was pretty short. This one is a good length, so please enjoy.**

CHAPTER 4: I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU

The dungeon door opened...

"NATSUME-SAMA!" everyone in the room yelled almost in unison.

Wow. Natsume seems popular around here.

"Hi, guys," he greeted quite plainly.

"Ahem," sounded a female voice.

"...and girls," Natsume sighed irritably.

"Who's your friend Natsume?" asked the female voice.

"Mikan-chan," said an oddly familiar voice.

"Eh? Yo-chan, you know this girl! I've never seen her before," said the girl.

"Yeah, when I was little..."

"She's right here, you know," Natsume voiced, speaking my thoughts. It was beginning to feel awkward being talked about while I was present.

"Well then, are you going to introduce her to them Natsume or do I have to do everything here myself?" asked an older, deep voice. It seemed vaguely familiar. "Everyone this is Sakura Mikan, she used to go to this school but had to leave for... urgent...reasons. I'd like you all to make her welcome."

"Who said that?" I turned my head towards the voice. My eyes landed on a young man, about 20 years of age. He had dark hair with a purple tinge. He had a goofy smile... and a star tattooed on his cheek.

"TSUBASA-SEMPAI!" I screamed in recognition as I lunged towards him and gave him an enormous hug.

"What, she knows Tsubasa-sensei too. Who is this girl?" piped up the same girl from before.

"Nice to see you again too, Mikan," said Tsubabsa as he rubbed my head.

"So how long are you going to dismiss the crowd for?" asked Natsume cooly.

"Oh... how rude of me," I realised. I looked at the small group of girls and boys of different ages.

"As Tsubasa-sempai said, I'm Mikan and I'm going to be joining the Dangerous Ability class from now on... Pleased to meet you all!" I said cheerfully.

My bright smile turned into a look of overwhelmed surprise as I got bombarded with questions again.

"How does Yo-chan, Natsume and Tsubasa-sensei know you?"

"How old are you?"

"What's your Alice? How are you in dangerous Ability?"

"How long has it been since you last went to this school?"

"Why did you leave?"

"Is Natsume your boyfriend?"

Aah! So many questions. "Uh... I used to go to this school seven years ago and Yo-chan, Natsume and Tsubasa were my friends. I'm 17 years old in my final year here at Alice Academy. I'm in Dangerous Ability for my Stealing and Insertion Alices. I also have the nullification and teleportation Alices. I had to leave because I was, um, trying to capture a foe."

"Oh! I remember her now, I was really little but, weren't you that girl that made the school go all crazy?"

"Oh yeah! You had that stealing Alice that caused such a raucous," said the girl from before.

"Hehe, yeah..." I replied.

"Cool," she replied.

"Hey! You haven't answered my question yet," said a mischievous sort of boy who looked about in middle school.

"And what was your question?"

"Is Natsume-sempai your boyfriend?"

"Uh...," I felt my cheeks gaining colour and glanced over at Natsume, exasperated. "I think I'll let Natsume answer that."

The students looked at Natsume expectantly. Natsume seemed to ignore this and said seriously, "Hey Polka!"

"What!" I said. What the hell could it be now?

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

My jaw dropped. He just asked me out...? Now? Why! "Are you serious!" I said rather irritably.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" He didn't.

I looked bashfully at the crowd of people who seemed to be just as stupefied as me. "Um.. yeah?"

He turned to the crowd, "Yes, she's my girlfriend."

Natsume walked over to a corner, leaned on the wall and started whistling inconspicuously.

Tsubasa-sempai seemed to recover first. "Well, um, everyone. Now that that's settled, do you guys mind introducing yourselves?"

I was still a little bit stunned when the crowd began to introduce themselves one by one.

"You know me, Yoichi Hiriji, Evil Spirits Alice," said Yo-chan.

"Mochizuki Tomoyo, Shapeshifting Alice," introduced a curly, black haired girl of about 8 years.

"Atsuko Minako, Male Pheromone and Wind Alice," said a pretty girl with long greyish hair and a neatly made-up face.

"Haruka Megumi, Water Alice," said the girl who kept talking earlier. She looked like in junior high with rolled up sleeves and a smug face.

"Noburu Rin, Resurrection Alice..." Wow, a resurrection Alice. Sounds dangerous. This guy must be tough as nails, "...and cooking alice..." ...of course.

"Souta Ryuu, Incredible Hulk/Jekyll Hyde/The Thing Alice... or you can call it the Extraordinary Enlargement Alice." It was the guy who sparked the plug with me and Natsume... I'm torn between ranting at him or thanking him. I decided to just keep quiet and let them continue.

"Shinobu Yumiko, Weaponry Enhancement Alice," said an intelligent, bespectacled looking girl with brown hair and piercing eyes.

"Daichi Hotaka, Plant Pheromone Alice and Earth Alice." It was a guy with almost teal-ish hair and a small, dirty face.

"Jirou Akira, Invisibility and Metal Manipulation Alice." He had black, messy hair. He looked around 12.

"Jirou Nobu, Invisibility and Bone/Plastic Manipulation Alice. An Alice far superior to my brother's." Brothers? Twins, more like!

"Well, hi!" I said as the twins began to bicker. This looked like an interesting bunch. "I can't wait to work with you all."

I turned back to Tsubasa. I was holding back this question since more pressing issues had arisen. "Tsubasa-sempai," I called.

"Hn? Yes, Mikan."

"Am I hearing right when they called you Tsubasa-sensei?"

* * *

**Interesting bunch, right? I had so much fun thinking of these characters. They'll (one in particular) will be in the limelight the next few chapters. Unfortunately, that's all for now (unless I make a sequel ;)...) because the storyline changes up a bit after this class. But don't fret, I've got 3 good chapters on it, so YAY!**

**Needless to say, please review. The next chapter will, once again, be up withing the next 3 days (the more reviews, the quicker!).**


	6. Chapter 5: A CHALLENGE

**Here's the new chapter. Thank you to Yuza-Mei who reviewed the last chapter. Oh and also everyone else from other chapter :)**

**I _just_ realised you can reply to reviews :O (sorry, I'm new...) so from now on I'll try and reply to all you guys' reviews.**

**Your Fan () - I can't really change that much since I've written most of the story, but there are some bits in there where I tried to make her seem older... eg. this chapter.**

**I will be spending a couple of chapters on this DA lesson (purely because its fun to write about and why not?). Anyway, please enjoy!**

CHAPTER 5: A CHALLENGE

"Tsubasa-sempai, I honestly never thought that you'd become a teacher," I voiced.

"Neither did I," he laughed. "But a few reasons caused me to do it."

"Like?"

"Well, you for one. I never realised how much I liked spending time with kids until I met you." I beamed.

"Pedophile..." Natsume mumbled under his breath. We ignored him.

"Also, I was always so irritated about how the teachers knew everything and students didn't. I figured if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. When I found out you could teach things other than history and maths, I was all for it."

"That's great!"

He then turned towards the class and announced, "Alright class, I've got the usual activity for us to do today!"

"Oh God, here we go," muttered Natsume grimly. I shot him a look of asking and he pointed an accusing finger at Tsubasa, "This idiot is worse than Narumi!"

"Hehe... what can I say, I realised that Naru's methods were fun," defended Tsubasa-sempai meekly.

Tsubasa-sempai... _worse_ than Narumi-sensei? I have sure missed a lot.

"Get it over with," Natsume ordered.

"Hey, I'm the teacher here," Tsubasa-sempai said. "Besides, I think that you'll especially like this lesson."

Natsume's eyes shot daggers towards him. He laughed weakly and returned to address the students.

Next thing I knew the curtain at the end of the room was drawn, automatically it seems. It scared the living daylights out of me. Everyone else seemed to be expecting it while I nearly fell over. Natsume caught me in one swift sweep and helped steady me again. "Don't worry," he said, "it gets everyone on the first time. Welcome to our training area. The content changes everyday, Tsubasa seems to have gotten more creative than usual today."

After I had recovered I finally noticed what was behind the curtain. This room was actually 30 times bigger with the curtain drawn. There beyond me was quite a setup. There were heaps of props representing hills and trees though it was obviously wooden cut-outs. The trees were a very cute, bright pinkish colour. They had painted on them the most peculiarly shaped fruits, all of a mixture of bright colours. The hills were variants of bright green sprinkled with flowers here and there. There were various scenes painted on the wooden props, almost like fairytale stories.

The scene was dotted with various red signposts with CHECKPOINT written on them. The hills were of various sizes and heights, and were making several pathways throughout the room. A maze. I pondered about the many things that could be hiding behind those wooden cut-outs but dismissed the thought when something else caught my eye. At the far end of the hall was a large bronze cup full of... no way... HOWALON! My mouth was beginning to water.

"KAWAIIII!" I exclaimed. "Tsubasa-sempai did you make this?"

"Hehe, yes I did. It was a short notice build, I only heard you got back this morning. I tried to remember what you like, of course I only remember ten-year-old Mikan but I'm glad you like it," he replied with pride.

"It's amazing!"

"Well, thanks. Shinobu-san, do you mind explaining to Mikan the rules of the game."

"Eh? Game?" I inquired.

"The objective of this game is to reach the cup at the far end. It seems today it is made out of brass, around 1500 rabbits worth (Wow, and how can she tell?). It is filled with howalon too for an extra added bonus. The players will travel in groups of no more than three people. Today it seems, now that we have a new arrival, we will be put in teams of two. They may not separate throughout the quest.

"Each team goes into a different entrance into the maze, all of which lead in some way to the cup. There will be several obstacles that each team will face on the journey towards the cup. Each team is selected by Tsubasa-sempai and so is their point of entrance. You will find that each challenge is suited for your teams' Alices. Be wary and be careful. Best of luck and pleased to meet you," said Shinobu-san, directing the last sentence to me.

Excitement filled me when I discovered it was a game. But this is the Dangerous Ability, I bet that its really challenging. "Arigatou, Shinobu-san."

"I shall now assign your teams," began Tsubasa-sempai. "Team one: Souta-san and Atsuko-san."

"Yes!" rejoiced Souta under his breath.

"Team two: Shinobu-san and Kouro-san. Team three: Noburu-san and Daichi-san." They hi-fived each other and stood beside their entrance.

"Team four: Jirou-san and Jirou-san."

"Ah man!" they complained in unison.

"Team five: Natsume and Yo-chan and that finally leaves Team Six: Haruka-san and Mikan-san."

I looked over at Haruka-san to find her staring back at me. She looked like the typical rebel girl. She had a beanie on, sort of like the one Tsubasa-sempai used to wear. She had her sleeves rolled up and it somehow complimented her short hair that waved in different directions. She seemed to be examining me intently with deep blue eyes, as if sizing me up.

I managed a smile and gave her a weak wave. She raised an eyebrow, shrugged and walked over to me. She stood next to me and looked intently at the starting line. My sweat dropped. I waved it off and also readied myself by the start position. As we were waiting for Tsusbasa's say-so, Haruka caught me by surprise. Without even moving or averting her gaze to look at me, she stated, "Just try to get in my way."

It wasn't a warning. It wasn't a threat either. It was a challenge. I registered the words and smirked. I wasn't the same little crybaby seven years ago, not entirely at least. I'd spent seven long years out in the real world, full of danger and full of deceit. The world that hardly any of the students in this academy have experienced. In the past seven years, I learnt that it does no good to do two things: run away from a problem and back down from a challenge. My eyes ignited with a new determination, that which I inherited from my mother. You're on, Haruka. You're on.

"Go!" announced Tsubasa.

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**Has Mikan made a new friend or a new enemy? Find out in the following chapters (which once again, depending on how many reviews, will be up within the next 3 days). And as always, please review (it really motivates us authors, and makes our day!).**


	7. Chapter 6: MY ALICE

**Hey! I updated right away, since I quite a few reviews and it got me all excited and motivated.**

**Okay, so I think I may have scared a few people when I said the more reviews, the quicker the update. This DOES NOT mean that no reviews means no update. I still update withing the 3 day period I give myself. And more updates just means I get more motivated to update... Sorry if that confused/intimidated you. You are not being forced to review. They just make my day and give me a nudge to update.**

**Also, I got soo many reviews suggesting Mikan makes this awesomely big impact on Dangerous Ability class. The suggestions were soo good! But, unfortunately, I've written the rest (almost done!) of this and the storyline wasn't initially about this class, I just got sidetracked (which is good, actually). However! Since those ideas were so good, and I'd like to see them in action also, I'm thinking of writing an omake (side story/extra) to insert somewhere in this story where she DOES make a huge impact and stuff :) I'll probably get onto that after I finish writing the story (not long now).**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Shout out to Gothic Neko Writer who's review made me laugh so hard and basically update... (Y)**

CHAPTER 6: _MY _ALICE

Haruka had sped off into the maze without so much as giving me a second thought. I kept up easily of course. Seven years in constant danger gave you good running away skills (for those problems that were to be faced another time, of course). I saw her smirk and spare a glance back. She seemed shocked to see me hot on her heels. Her smirk melted away and she turned forward again. I'm not that easy to shake off. Hotaru would know.

I managed to make a quick patrol of everyone else. I could only see the tops of heads dashing around the maze. I tried to look for Natsume but I hardly had time to search for him when we hit our first Checkpoint.

Haruka and I skidded to a halt by a small stream. It was too wide to jump across, but quite shallow. Now how did that get in the middle of a room? A note was attached underneath the checkpoint symbol. It said, "Get across this stream without getting wet." I saw materials for a bridge by the post.

I knelt down beside the working materials and was about to grab a plank when Haruka started chuckling. "Man, I know the first one's always the easiest but does Tsubasa really think I'm that stupid?" she shook her head, disappointed. What did she mean? She looked at me as if I was an idiot (I get that look way to many times) and said, "Building a bridge would take way too long, moron. Or are you forgetting what my Alice is?"

Her Alice? I forced myself to remember when they were introducing themselves. Haruka-san... Haruka Megumi... "Water Alice!" That's it. Of course, this would be a walkover. She rolled her eyes at me and stepped by the stream. "Just watch," she told me.

Come on, Mikan. I'm being a fool. If I keep this up, I'll never rise up to the challenge. And despite my words of encouragement, I knelt there dumbfounded by what I saw next.

Haruka stood there, hands splayed out by her side. But though she seemed to be making little effort to do so, the waters burst into life. _Excellent control_. As if by Moses's staff, the waters parted. A wall of dynamic blue, perhaps a metre tall stood on either side of a perfectly dry path. _Very good, indeed_. The skill she displayed was of utmost quality. The last time I'd seen someone control an element so well was, well, Natsume...

"Are you coming?" Haruka asked pointedly. She was already nearing the opposite side. I quickly got up and made to follow. As I made the first few steps between the walls of water, I felt something behind me. I turned my head to find a great looming wall of water threatening to close over me and engulf me. WHAT IS THIS? I darted across the path, horrified to find that the barricade of water was following me suit. I looked towards Haruka who was walking leisurely into the rest of the maze, unable to hide her smirk. _This is so not funny_.

* * *

It wasn't a long stroll full of my complaining and sulking and Haruka's ignorance and smart-alec quotes before we reached our next checkpoint. We were still in the heat of our latest little argument when we realised what it was that we were up against. The was a little bundle of brownish cloth in the middle of the pathway. At least, that's what we thought it was until it adjusted itself and a snore escaped from the scrunched up figure. Now this is weird.

I read the note attached beneath the checkpoint Marker. "Sneak past the sleeping bear. I warn you now, you must beware. He is stronger than before. Especially when the beast snores." Sleeping bear? I squinted my eyes and looked closely at the heap. It wasn't a bear, this was a person.

Stronger... when he snores? Thoughts were still racing through my mind when I heard Haruka whimper, "I-I th-think, you n-need to c-come see this." I looked over at her to see her horrified. That was a surprise. I thought hardly anything would break this girl. She was staring at the face of the... beast? I stepped next to her and found that it was not, in fact a beast, but it was close enough. My heart skipped a beat.

"JIN JIN!" I retreated in shock and fear and nervousness and what not. I could hardly finish my shriek when Haruka covered my mouth, "Shut it, he might wake up." There was genuine fear in her voice. Jinno-sensei must really scare her. I nodded in silent agreement.

We watched him from a safe distance. He was curled up and sleeping quite soundly. Peacefully. God only knows what hell would erupt for the unlucky person to wake him from this slumber. Now how the hell did Tusbasa-sempai pull this off? I had a sneaking suspicion that Jinno had no idea of his current whereabouts.

"Do you hear that?" she whispered, forgetting to be mean and bossy. A soft buzzing could be heard from Jinno-sensei's general direction. It was like the buzz you would hear underneath a power line. Like an electric field. I looked at Haruka and her face told me that she assumed the same thing. "I've caught him napping before," I mumbled. "I never sensed that."

Suddenly, he snored. The most peculiar – and definitely intimidating – thing happened. Sparks began to crackle around his body. Miniature lightning bolts crackled audibly in his vicinity. The stakes had just doubled. "I've caught him napping before, too," Haruka said in a barely audible whisper, "and that has definitely never happened."

We crouched there, examining the terrifying, sleeping heap. What could possibly make his Alice do that. Even if I did nullify it, this power was so strong that it reacted even in his sleep. How were we supposed to get past him without hurting ourselves. I mean, I could try to nullify it but I have a bad feeling about that. What could possibly be amplifying his Alice so much? ...Amplify...

"Tonochi-sempai!" Haruka raised one confused eyebrow at my outburst. I continued, "Tono-sempai, he's an old friend of Tsubasa-sempai. He's got the amplification Alice." Some realisation became evident on the young girl's face. Then she asked, "But how? Is it an Alice stone? How do we take it, we don't know where it is." I grinned, stood up and told her, "Just watch. Or are you forgetting what _my_ Alices are?"

I creeped over to Jinno-sensei, nullifying his sparks as much as I could. I knelt down, outstretching my arm. I touched his trunk, concentrated hard and extracted a dark, stone with peculiar colours that danced on the surface. This stone is very familiar indeed. In fact, it had once followed me around for a day. As soon as I had pulled the stone out, the sparks died away and the buzzing ceased. I smiled, accomplished, and beckoned Haruka over. She seemed to be quite impressed.

I found myself wondering how that stone got inside Jin Jin in the first place, unless... mother. How many contacts did Tusbasa-sempai have, really? I couldn't entertain this thought any further when we heard a groan from behind us. We froze. Slowly, stiffly, we turned our heads. The sleeping heap was groaning and shuffling. He was waking up. I looked at Haruka, who was frozen in terror, and then around the area. I saw the checkpoint sign and the next thing I knew, it was in my hand and... THWACK! Before I could even contemplate whether my actions were appropriate, I was hurriedly dragging Haruka away. I had a feeling that Jinno-sensei wouldn't be waking up in a long time.

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**Hahaha, I just KNEW I had to put sleeping Jinno in there as soon as I mentioned obstacle course. Now for those who thoguht Mikan would gain respect with her personality and stuff (which would be awesome too, look out for the omake), I thought maybe this was good enough :P**

**Once again, next chapter will be up within the next 3 days. Reviews are appreciated.**


	8. Chapter 7: FORGETTING SOMETHING?

**Ok, this is a shorty chapter (well most of mine are...) so I'm sorry. I'll try to update ASAP after this (not tomorrow though, unfortunately I'm extremely busy so maybe the day after)**

**Also, this will be the last chapter on Dangerous Ability class (sorry about that too, but look out for the side story ^.^) since I kind of strayed away from the original plot...**

**Please enjoy!**

CHAPTER 7: FORGETTING SOMETHING...?

While we ran, I think I gained a whole lot more respect from Haruka. The next checkpoint was another water based activity but this time, I took the liberty of inserting the amplification stone into Haruka. Her body seemed to have accepted it well. We cleared the checkpoint with ease and I had a good feeling about our stance in the race. That was, until we hit the next checkpoint.

We were so excited to reach the last checkpoint until we saw what it was. We nearly fainted when we saw a large, thick brick wall blocking our way. What the hell? How on earth could this be eluded? In vain, I read the note beneath the checkpoint.

"Dear Mikan, Congratulations on making it this far. However, seeing as you're even here right now, I think you may be forgetting something... From, Tsubasa."

What did he mean 'forgetting something'? I looked from the note, to the brick wall, and back at the note again. Then it hit me. I paled. A toothy grin, with no humour or glee in it stuck on my face. The aura around me darkened and my sweat dropped.

Haruka, who had been pacing in front of the wall came over to check on me. "What's wrong?" She read the note and looked at me questioningly. With the half grin, half scowl still on my face I replied, "Do you remember all my Alices?" She stopped and thought hard. Then I saw her expression change. She looked at me in utter disbelief, then croaked, "I went through Jin Jin for nothing?" She looked like she was gonna hit me ten times harder than I hit Jinno-sensei. I thanked the heavens that she didn't have access to the Baka gun right now.

I braced myself as best as I could. But nothing happened. I glanced at her, only to find her smiling warmly. "Well, what are you waiting for idiot-sempai? Teleport us to the other side already." She called me sempai...

I straightened and smiled back. "Hold on tight." And we dissolved away.

As we re-materialised, I saw Haruka take a look around. "Where are we? Where's the brick wall?" I smiled and pointed some distance over the props where the top of the wall protruded. "I took the liberty of teleporting us all the way to the finish line instead," I explained.

"Smartest thing you've done all day, Mikan-sempai," she grinned. From idiot, to idiot-sempai, to Mikan-sempai. I'd say I've lived up to the challenge.

Shortly up ahead lay the trophy full of howalon. The small divine puffs of goodness looked even better from here. One look at each other and together we sped towards the cup. As soon as we touched it, a bell rang and Tsubasa-sempai appeared from behind a prop. "Nicely done, girls." We beamed.

Then I burst out accusingly, "You knew I'd forget!"

He chuckled nervously, "Actually, I was counting on it." I looked at him questioningly and he continued, "This course is a small assessment for you. I saw you do your stuff and you have definitely passed. I'm positive that that isn't all you've got but for now this info will suffice. We need it to determine your missions."

"Missions?" I inquired. Surely, the black ops weren't on anymore.

"Nothing like the black ops, of course," he responded, as if reading my mind. "They are just small protective missions for the government. Nothing so extreme as the black ops. Trust me, I would know."

At that moment, Natsume and Yo-chan came into the clearing. They stopped, registered the situation and shrugged. They walked over to one corner and stood there. "Natsume!" I called out happily.

"This is the first time that duo hasn't come first," explained Tsubasa-sempai. "Any activity where they are together, they always win. Until now of course. Anyway, Natsume, join us over here. This team just got here too, they won of course."

First, eh? Well I'm glad to have beaten him. I was about to gloat when he asked Tsubasa-sempai, "I'm guessing she forgot her Teleportation Alice." All joy at the sight of him vanished. How could he be so mean? I just won for goodness sakes. I exploded, "NATSUME GODDAMIT! DOES THAT EVEN MATTER? WELL, IT APPEARS I'M HERE BEFORE YOU, EVEN WHEN I HARDLY USED THAT ALICE. SO I BEAT YOU ANY WAY. EAT IT!"

I crossed my arms and turned my back on him, sulking. Everyone, except me and Natsume's sweat dropped. Suddenly, without even moving anything but his arm, he grabbed my waist and pulled me towards him in a one-armed hug. He looked intently at me and said, "Congratulations, Polka."

I was beginning to blush when Souta-san and Atsuko-san came through their exit. They stopped and registered the situation. "Are we interrupting something?" Souta-kun asked, a little mischief evident. Natsume casually let go of me and went back to leaning on a prop. I stood there flushed. "No, nothing really," said Haruka, the faintest hint of sarcasm in her voice. It was a good save though. I owe her one.

The others kept on coming not long after the other. Noburu-san and Daichi-san came next and Shinobu-san and Mochizuki-san came only a few seconds after. And finally, the Jirou twins entered, arguing. "It's because I'm paired with you," they muttered to each other.

Haruka and I split the pot. I took most of the Howalon while she got the trophy. I told her that if I sold the trophy, Hotaru would find a way to tax me anyway. We agreed that if I gave her some Howalon, she'd give me 10% of the profits.

My first Dangerous Ability class proved to be very good. I made new friends (and a boyfriend), I can only imagine what's more to come...

* * *

**Spoiler: well the answer to that Mikan, is a hell of a lot for you to comprehend...**

**Did anyone even notice that she forgot? I'm sure some of you did...**

**As I said up top, I'll try to post the next chapter the day after tomorrow. Reviews are appreciated :)**


	9. Chapter 8: HIS REASON FOR LIVING

**Longish chapter alert! (Double what I usually write) So yay for you guys (since my average chapter isn't very long)**

**As promised the new chapter comes out today :)**

**Please enjoy**

CHAPTER 8: HIS REASON FOR LIVING

I was still buzzing with excitement as Natsume walked me back from the Dangerous Abilities class. There were no more classes for the rest of the day and tomorrow was the weekend. We walked hand in hand, enjoying each other's company. Nothing seems to have changed much since I got back which was, surprisingly, only last night. Until now, I still didn't want to let go of his warm hand.

"Have you arranged your dorms and accommodations with Narumi-sensei or your uncle yet?" Natsume asked casually. I registered the words and blushed because it was merely another way of asking _are you sleeping in my room again tonight?_ "N-no, I mean I dunno," it was hard not to stutter, "I'm on my way to see him now..." I mentally changed routes to my uncle's office.

It wasn't too long until we reached High School Principal's office. I was still unfamiliar with the High School grounds but Natsume was there to guide me. I knocked and a friendly, muffled voice was heard from behind the door, "Come in!" I opened the large oak door and entered a large room. There were bookshelves across the walls and various other antiques and expensive, valuable looking paraphernalia decorating the space. Despite its grandeurs, it was very welcoming.

It seemed quite cliché that the Principal was sitting at a large desk in the centre-back of the room. I almost thought he'd say _I've been expecting you_, but he didn't say that. Although, it was quite obvious he was expecting us when he said, "Natsume. Mikan! Looking for a room now, are we?" He smiled warmly.

"Hello Uncle, and yes, I sorta need a dorm..." I replied. Natsume merely nodded curtly as a greeting.

"No problem! No problem! Of course, you probably slept somewhere last night, you may be able to sleep there again..." He looked up in asking, although I had a feeling that he already knew where I went last night. I spared a glance at Natsume but he was staring intently at a shelf of books, with no intention of answering that question.

"I..uh..well...um," I began but he interrupted me.

"It's alright. I think I may have been a little too cruel with that, no?" He chuckled softly then resumed. "Just one day here and you've been settling in quite well, already. Failing maths, succeeding in Dangerous Ability class and, if I'm not mistaken getting a boyfriend too." My jaw hit the floor.

"WAIT! Ho-how did you -? He-Natsume-my-maths-sempai's... Sempai!" Realisation dawned briefly on me as to how he acquired this information. Tsubasa-sempai was really cruel. Teacher's really are informed around here. Tsubasa-_sensei_ must really be enjoying this teacher thing...

I looked over at Natsume who was still eagerly examining the furniture and determinedly excluding himself from this conversation. My uncle continued, "Well, I couldn't pick a finer candidate... I wonder how my brother would respond to this. That's out of the question for now. Congratulations, you two. You have my full support!" He seemed really enthusiastic. My smile twitched.

"Yes, well, we mustn't waste time in getting you a dorm, I'll organise it right away," he kept on cheerily. "Technically, it wouldn't be appropriate to keep you two in the same dorm again. Who knows what you could get up to." He snickered a little bit again as both my sweat and jaw dropped. The atmosphere just got ten times more awkward. I snuck a glance a Natsume who, although he was facing an ornately carved table, had a face turned to stone and a jaw clenched a little too tight. It relieved me to see that he was blushing a little bit too.

The high school principal burst out into a fit of laughter. "Oh...oh dear... I'm especially sinister today... I apologize for that. I guess I just couldn't resist teasing you youngsters... I've let Narumi know about it... you should go pick the key up from there..." He slowly recovered. "Anyway, Mikan you can go or wait outside. Natsume could you stay in here, I'd like a quick word."

I nodded to my uncle and hesitantly looked at Natsume. He nodded and I made my way to the exit, shutting the heavy oak door behind me. I leaned against it, but it was so thick that I couldn't make out anything that was being spoken softly about on the other side. The tone sounded sort of serious.

My eavesdropping couldn't progress any further however when I heard someone yell, "Heads!" I had no time to respond to this when something round hit me square on the head, making me topple backwards like a toy. As I fell to the floor I made out a figure running towards me.

As I pushed my torso away from the ground, rubbing my head, I saw someone pick up the projectile and crouch down beside me. "You okay," said a boyish and genuinely concerned voice. I looked up and I saw a guy, around my age, looking back at me with deep, sienna eyes. He had messy brown hair and a friendly, playful face that was so new, yet so familiar. He helped me up and I couldn't help but blush because, in truth, he was very handsome.

"Sorry about that, I was playing with some elementary kids and this Alice ball," he held up the ball bearing the Academy's star, "and, well, one of them could make things fly... I think you can guess what happened next." He grinned jokingly as three elementary aged kids came running around down the hallway.

"Souma-sempai! There you are," they uttered. They skidded to a halt beside me and the stranger. He addressed them kindly but pointedly, "Now, look what you guys did. That ball flew all the way over here and knocked this girl down. You guys have to be more careful next time so nobody gets hurt, ok? Now you should apologise to her."

The little kids all turned remorseful pouts on bowed heads towards me and said in unison, "We're sorry." My slight shock turned into a broad smile, "It's alright! Just listen to sempai here, be more careful next time." They nodded, grateful smiles now on their faces. The strange guy was chuckling and noogied one of the boys.

The kids pleaded, "Can we keep playing now nee-chan? We promise to be more careful!" He laughed softly and nodded. The kids started to stumble away and the guy jogged after. Before he disappeared, he turned around and waved, a carefree grin on his face. "See you around!"

I couldn't help but wonder who that guy was. He seemed like the playful, sporty, friendly type of boy. He was really nice. I wonder if he was in our grade, he seems around Natsume's age.

Speaking of Natsume, at that moment the oak doors opened and Natsume came out looking a little annoyed but otherwise normal. He closed the doors behind him and curiously followed my gaze in time to see the figure disappear around the corner. "You okay, Polka? Who was that?"

"Huh?" I said absent mindedly as I watched the stranger disappear. Once he was gone I turned my attention back to Natsume. "Oh, some kids were playing with and Alice ball and it knocked me over... it's ok though, they apologised and helped me up." Natsume nodded, eyes lingering for a while on the corner where the figures disappeared. He turned his head abruptly and snorted, "Just like Polka to get hit by an Alice ball in an empty hallway."

"Hey!" He always does this to me... but, its always harmless and ends up making me smile anyway.

As we walked towards Narumi's office which was on the other side of the building, I remembered that my uncle had kept Natsume in privately. "What was that whole conversation with high school principal about anyway?" I asked.

He shrugged. "He was just saying stuff about how I have to take good care of you. The usual. He figured it would be what your dad would have wanted him to say to me. I think I managed to convince him, though, that I wouldn't dare try to hurt my reason for living." He gazed warmly at me. My eyes widened in mild shock, once again I started to blush. I tightened my grip on his arm and hand and leaned my head on his shoulder. I felt him tense up briefly in surprise, only briefly. He too tightened his grip on my arm as we walked hand in hand towards Narumi-sensei's office.

* * *

**A/N The following is kinda confusing. It's Mikan in her dorm reminiscing about what just happened when she was at Narumi's onwards.**

I lay in the bed of my new dorm, staring at the one circular badge I held in my hand. It had a star engraved in it, differing from the usual star shaped badges that could be received in the ones, twos or threes. It was beyond three stars, it was the best you could get. _"The Principal thought you deserved this, for saving the school and possibly the world and all."_ That's what Narumi told me. I could not think of anything to say at the time and though I could think of so many excuses why I shouldn't have accepted it, I took it anyway. I could've said that it wasn't just me, that I didn't do much, I didn't deserve this or that it was completely uncalled for.

A small smirk played on my face as I remembered what Narumi-sensei said that had stopped me from saying all that. _"Don't you dare say that you don't deserve this, Mikan. Your part in this operation was beyond important, it wouldn't have succeeded without you. I watched you, I saw you grow, I was with you as you gave up seven years of your life to protect those you love. So don't you dare say that that isn't worth this small badge." _

I took it wordlessly, bowing in thanks. The little bit of cool metal in the palm of my hand, the token reward for the years I spent on the outside. It was then that all the memories and struggles of the past seven years came back to me, all in one sudden burst of emotion. Seven years was a long time. But it was seven years filled with worthy moments, with my mother and Narumi and Shiki. I remembered the tears uncontrollably welling in my eyes as I stood there and before I knew it, streaming silently down my face. I remember trying to stay true to Hotaru's constant advice about my crying face as I choked out a sob, but I simply couldn't stop. Most of all, I remembered Natsume pulling me into a warm hug and whispering in my ear. _"You're amazing, you know."_

All those times, in those seven years were now represented by this badge. This badge would mean so much to me. I closed my fist and put it to my chest. Shutting my eyes I reminisced on all the events of today. Reunited with all of my friends and making new ones, too. Most of all, after seven years, I saw Nastume again. The one I loved, the one who loved me. I remembered walking back to my dorm with him.

"_We're matching now," I smiled and pointed to the badge on his chest. He smirked. As I opened the door into my large, furnished, new room, he pulled me into a tight hug. Whilst he held me, he didn't fail to whisper in my ear, "Tomorrow at central town, ten o'clock by the tree I used to sit at, don't be late." With that he had left me in my room, casually saluting farewell as he closed the door._

What a day indeed. As I drifted off into the welcoming arms of sleep, I found myself thinking... but tomorrow will be even better.

* * *

**Hehe, so will next chapter be a fluff chapter? Who knows! (I do, but I can't tell you)**

**From now on the original plot is in motion :D**

**Again, the next chapter will be up in the next three days or so...**

**Reviews are especially appreciated. I'm curious for feedback on this chapter in particular (the first one I wrote after my six month break :P)**


	10. Chapter 9: RUKAPYON YOU LIKE?

**Alright, here's chapter 9. I feel the story is really progressing now =] ... although you have about 10 or so more chapters to read ;)**

**Don't murder for my pairings, but if you were paying attention, Hotaru was taken.**

**Please enjoy.**

CHAPTER 9: RUKA-PYON, YOU LIKE...!

"Oh no," I murmured as I hurried towards the tree in Central Town. "I'm late. I'm late. I'm late!" It wasn't my fault. I woke up, had trouble finding something decent to wear because I had yet to unpack and couldn't find a clip to tie my hair properly. I ended up slipping a dress on, and jacket on top and pulling my hair in a ponytail to the side. I rushed outside and just caught the bus, I was still just going to make it when I got off the bus and I would have too, if he hadn't shown up.

_Crap, I have to hurry. But I was running too fast and I bumped into someone. Great, just my luck. _

"_Whoa there, you all right?" said a familiar voice, but I couldn't put my finger on who exactly it was. "Hey, you're that girl from yesterday." I looked up and I finally saw who it was. It was that boy playing with the elementary kids yesterday. He seemed like the good Samaritan yesterday. Today, however, he was wearing a loose singlet with a number 7 on it and some sports pants. He must've seen the questioning look on my face when he said, "It's my basketball gear, I make it a point to play some with my friends every weekend." How devoted, he must be really passionate about his sport. _

"_Oh," I smiled. _

"_How rude of me, I haven't introduced myself, I'm Souma Kiseki. I don't think I caught your name...?"_

_Souma Kiseki... "Mikan, Sakura Mikan," I replied._

_He looked astounded. "Mikan? _The_ Mikan? Wow, I had no idea it was you, of course I've never met you before. You're just like how they described you..." He was beaming and held out a hand. I gladly took it. A new friend, and he seemed like a great character to get to know._

"_Pleased to meet you, but how do you know me?" I asked._

"_Oh, well you're pretty well known in our grade, my friends Koko, Kitsuneme and Kochiage told me about you." My sweat dropped at the last one, Kochiage never really liked me... he hung around with Natsume a lot before and wagged with him..._

"_R-really?" My eyes flew to the sports watch on his wrist and I suddenly remembered that I had a date. "I'm sorry! I have to be somewhere right now. I really have to go, I'm late."_

"_Alright then," he grinned and waved. "See you around." He was really easy to be around. I waved and scurried away._

The tree came into view and my heart fell when I didn't see anyone there. I slowed to halt by the base of the trunk and doubled over, leaning on the tree. I was tired from running all the way here. Natsume...? He couldn't have been late, could he?

My question was answered when I heard, "You're late, Polka." I looked up to see Natsume's body appear, or rather, fall down, before me. He had been climbing trees again.

"Aren't you a little old to be climbing trees?" I accused, hands on hips.

"Aren't you a little old to be wearing ribbons in your hair?" He pointed to the long silk ribbon I twirled playfully around my ponytail.

"Never," I responded almost automatically.

"There's your answer," he stated smugly. I pouted.

"Look at us," I said, "We're still acting the same as we did when we were 10. We're going out now, shouldn't it be... different?"

"Just because you're my girlfriend doesn't mean we have to act differently. It doesn't change anything, it's the exact same as before. That's the way it should be," he stated plainly.

"Then what's the point?" I challenged playfully.

"To let everyone else know," he said, "that you're mine." He looked at me with burning eyes. I had once felt his emotions seeping into me and they were far beyond intense. I felt my face redden when I realised that someone loved me so much.

"Am I... interrupting something?" It was Ruka. As I turned in surprise, I felt my face redden even more.

"Eh? Ruka-pyon, you're coming too?" I inquired.

"No, no! Don't mind me. I was just walking this way too, I have somewhere I have to go to," he assured. He looked at Natsume, "Shall we?" He nodded and we started walking.

I examined Ruka closely. Having made a conclusion I decided to confront him, "Ruka-pyon, you _do_ have someone you like, don't you? You're going to see them right now!" He blushed fiercely and faltered, then looked nervously at Natsume.

Natsume however, started laughing. "Hahaha, it's amazing how she can pick that up so quickly, isn't it?"

Ruka grinned. "You're right and despite all that she probably wouldn't know what we're talking about."

What were they talking about? "Huh?" I managed. They merely laughed harder.

"Sometime soon she'll probably even come close to figuring out who she is," Natsume continued. But I wasn't listening any more. They seemed to be ignoring me, so I entered a state of deep thought.

"Look at her, she's thinking about it right now, any moment now..." Ruka answered.

Who could it be? That shifty glance at Natsume... "No way, Ruka-pyon, it's not me is it?" I exclaimed. The boys looked at each other briefly before bursting into more fits of laughter. "Ok, just checking. But it's someone close to Natsume, I'm sure."

"She's good," Natsume confirmed. Ruka smiled. What girl, besides me, could be so close to Natsume? I've only seen him surrounded by guys and screaming fans before – which he assured me he didn't care much for. I racked my brain for all the people he loved as we rounded a corner.

"Any moment now," Ruka said.

Just as we entered a shop, it came to me. "AOI-CHAN!"

"Yes?" said a voice from the counter, "Mikan! Is that you?"

* * *

**A/N: It took me so long to figure out who would go well with Ruka... I think I did quite a good job considering the circumstances though... I basically went through the same thought process as Mikan :P**

**Next chapter may as well be up tomorrow, since I'm not busy... Buuttt!**

**REVIEWS PRETTY PLEASE!**


	11. Chapter 10: YOU CAN'T BEAT ME

**This is a really short chapter coming up... but it's mostly fluff anyway.**

**By the way, I have big news... I FINISHED WRITING THIS STORY :D :D!**

**Shout out to Asian Ranga for technically being my Beta :D**

**It's 21 chapters but I haven't written the said omake yet.**

**I need ideas, so please review some for me ^ ^**

CHAPTER 10: YOU CAN'T BEAT ME

"I see," said Aoi as I finished explaining the events of my absence, "I'm glad you're back now. That must have been really tough."

"Thanks," I replied. "But what about Aoi? How have you been? When did you start working here?" I haven't heard from her since we rescued her from the Hana-Hime den. It's great to catch up.

"I've been terrific!" she said gleefully as she set down her cup of hot chocolate on the table we were now all gathered around. "I started working here about nine months ago. Dad let me come as soon as I turned 15."

Was she really 15 now? For the first time, I got to analyse her appearance properly. She did seem a lot older. She grew her short black hair down beneath her shoulders and her face was more mature. She was wearing a short, pretty floral dress and an elegant cardigan on top. She was quite tall for 15, only about an inch shorter than me. Her crimson eyes, which couldn't see, still had a bright look permanently installed in them. She was so cute. I couldn't help but notice how much she resembled Natsume, though, in her own way.

"So, does this mean you got your Alice back?" I asked.

She shook her head sadly. "The lady who owns this trinket shop was kind enough to let me help around. I get a decent pay and she gives me a bed too. Of course, I was jumping for every opportunity to see onii-san again."

"And Ruka-pyon too, I bet," I teased lightly.

But she only said simply and very cheerfully too, "Of course!" Her shameless grin made Ruka blush.

"So," she changed the subject so easily, "you and onii-san are going out now?"

Ruka nearly spat out all of his drink, "WHAT?"

Natsume's sweat merely dropped as he said, "She's good too."

Ruka stammered, "N-natsume! You didn't t-tell me that! H-how long?"

"Since yesterday afternoon," I answered.

"How did Aoi know?" Ruka inquired.

This time Natsume answered, "She didn't, but now she does."

"I just felt it in the air..." she said vacantly but then came back down to earth. "I can just tell."

Ruka stared in disbelief at the 15-year-old. "Jeez, Aoi, you can't even see them and yet you can already tell," he shook his head, impressed. "You're just too good for me."

"We should go now," Natsume told the party around the table as he stood up. I got up as well and thanked them for the drinks.

"See you, guys," I called as I waved goodbye. "It was nice catching up." Natsume and I walked out the store door, me holding onto his arm, as we left the happy couple to themselves.

* * *

"Wow, Aoi and Ruka," I muttered as we walked around the town. "Are you really okay with that? I mean, that's your sister and best friend there... not that they aren't a pleasant couple and all..."

"It's the least I could do for him," he replied, "after all, I did steal you." He looked at me fondly. Once again, he had taken me completely by surprise. The comments like that have been streaming in since I had come back to the academy. But I was completely fine with that, it's not like I hated it.

"One vanilla, double scoop, thanks." He was ordering my ice-cream. I decided I had enough Howalon from Dangerous Ability, so we settled for ice-cream. _Perhaps, I should be the one to surprise him this time_, I thought. "Here," he said as he made to pass me my ice-cream. I saw my chance. I quickly kissed him on the cheek as I took my ice-cream. I separated myself from his arm and half-skipped towards a bench, leaving him frozen in mild shock.

As I sat down and began to eat my ice-cream, he recovered. I was happily eating away when he sat down next to me. I smiled cheerily at him. "You have some vanilla on your nose," he commented.

"I do?" I asked, going cross-eyed to see. But just as I caught a glimpse of the patch of ice-cream and before I could even make to wipe it off, he licked it off. He, ever so casually, licked the vanilla ice-cream off my nose. I cringed slightly in shock.

"Mm, good ice cream," he said dismissively. _There he goes again, _I thought, _always taking me by surprise. And just when I thought I could give him one in return, he goes right back and surprises me again. _He turned back to me and, as if reading my mind he said, "Try as you may, Polka, you can't beat me."

* * *

**Hehehe, well, since I've finished writing the main story (50 pages ftw!) I'll try and update ASAP from now on. I may even update again today, if I remember (hint hint - reviews) because this chapter wasn't even 1000 words.**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing and favouriting to everyone so far ^ ^.**


	12. Chapter 11: YOUR TUTOR IS

**Well, as I said I've finished writing this so I'll try to update daily ^ ^**

**Thanks to the people who favourited and reviewed, I really appreciate them.**

**I'm working on ideas for the promised omake... but I'm wondering whether to post it at the end of everything or somewhere in the middle...**

**Oh and yes, I did get caught out in the other chapter. Souma Kiseki, for those of you have read/watched Shugo Chara was stolen from it. He was mainly based on Kukai and that's why. I used Kiseki because it sounded nice and also you'll see why in this chapter. This was because I had just finished reading Shugo Chara when I wrote that chapter and thus, it was still buzzing in my mind. That was ages ago now, but I still like the name ^ ^.**

**Anyways, please enjoy reading.**

CHAPTER 11: YOUR TUTOR IS...

Tuesday maths. Why? As usual, I was gasping for precious air – the only thing keeping me alive at that point – by the end of it. The bell sounded and everyone, including Hotaru sped out the door. Natsume, it seemed, had better things to do this morning and so I was left alone to clumsily pack my things.

"Mikan, could you stay back a while after class," it was the teacher, Hideki-sensei. I finished packing my things and walked towards the teacher's desk, wondering what this was about – probably something about me flunking this subject. "Do you remember me talking to you last week about getting you a tutor?"

"Yes," I answered. So that was what this was about. Once again I found myself wondering who it could be.

"Well, you've missed an entire seven years of maths and so you really need a miracle worker to help you out," he chuckled. "But I assure you, the person I've asked is very capable. They're practically a genius, well-rounded in all subjects, an excellent role model. Three stars too, very reliable. I'm sure you'll get along with them very well."

My eyes glowed as I realised Hotaru fit that description perfectly. I knew she had declined very bluntly but perhaps the teachers could persuade her... I was getting giddy.

"Thanks for the flattery, sir, I'm really not that great," said a familiar voice from the doorway. "Sorry I'm late, I tried to get out as early as possible from science."

I turned and saw who it was. I saw a tall boy with a tangle of messy, brown hair and a friendly face."Souma-kun!" I exclaimed when I realised.

"Ah, there's my miracle worker," Hideki-sensei chuckled again as Souma-kun shook his head, smiling (note: this is a pun because Kiseki, his first name, means miracle). "I see you two have already made acquaintances."

"Haha, yeah you could call it that," he replied. I nodded.

"Well then, Kiseki," the teacher turned to him, "Mikan has missed an entire seven years of mathematics."

Souma-kun cringed slightly, still smiling.

"Now you know why I need your expertise. You'll have to take her through everything, keep it up until you hit advanced geometry, trigonometry and extension algebra.

This time I cringed.

"You'll have to help her out until she's caught up, keep her until she's confident. It may take a while, since she's not the brightest of the lot." He tried to say the last part as kindly as possible, my sweat dropped because I couldn't disagree.

"Don't worry about," assured Souma-kun. "I'm sure we'll get along great." He grinned at me. Did he even half realise what he was getting himself into?

"I knew I could rely on you, Kiseki," Hideki-sensei sounded relieved. "I best be going now, see you you two." With that, he left.

So this half-stranger was my new maths tutor. He seemed so friendly, just like the ideal big brother. I'm actually glad about it. I suddenly remembered what Hideki-sensei described about him. Was he really that amazing? He looked like a typical sports-kid, not all that great.

"Ne, Souma-kun," I asked, "Are you really a genius, three star?"

He put his hands up defensively, sweat dropping, "W-well Hideki-sensei overestimates me, that's all."

"But you're a three star," I insisted, pointing at the three shiny stars pinned and polished onto his collar.

"Well, yes," he admitted, defeated. Then he realised what my ranking was, "But you happen to be a special star, you're one to talk." He pointed to my badge.

"Well, as you can tell I'm not super smart or anything," I defended. "I just did a lot of... community and service... for the school."

"Ah, I see," he nodded understandingly, "fighting the Elementary School Principal and all."

HOLD ON A SECOND! I stuttered in disbelief, "H-how did you kn-know that!"

He chuckled. "Are you forgetting," he asked pointing to himself, "that I'm friends with Kokoro?" That explained way too much. Dammit Koko, can't you keep to yourself? Is that even possible?

"Don't worry," he assured. "Koko only told a few people, and I have no business to tell anyone about that anyway." I was relieved. "Man, I can't believe I'm tutoring you, the little heroine. That's so awesome." I blushed, I've been praised a lot since I back came here.

He saw my face and decided to change topics, we were walking out the door by now, "Ok, so Thursday afternoon in the library, you free?" he asked as he jogged backwards by my side. I agreed and he turned and started jogging away. Once again, before he disappeared, he uttered his usual farewell to me, "See you around." He waved and disappeared, leaving me thinking how similar this was to the first time we met.

* * *

**I apologize for the length of my chapters. I just scrolled down this one, and I kind of pity you guys that they're unbelievably short. I just broke them up that way... I'll try to update heaps to make up for it though.**

**And yes Kiseki means miracle so I stole that trick from Shugo Chara (I'm despicable, I know)**

**Will update tomorrow (or today is some of you give me a friendly reminder *hint, hint - review*)**


	13. Chapter 12: FINDING X

**I told you I'd update ^ ^**

**I probably will update daily til it finishes since, I'm not so busy... yet (exams in a couple of weeks)**

**Anyway... enjoy!**

CHAPTER 12: FINDING X

"Waaah, I still don't get it," I cried. I pushed myself away from the dreaded textbook, crossed my arms and started sulking. We'd been at this same topic for half an hour already.

Souma-kun burst into a fit of laughter, "Mikan-san, you really are a piece of work, but you're hilarious." I pouted.

"I was doing fine at maths until they started mixing the alphabet into it," I complained, sending Souma-kun into further fits of laughter.

"Well, that's algebra for you," he said. "Hm, perhaps we should take a different approach..."

"-?" was my response.

"How would you like to play pirates?" he asked mischievously, a broad grin. He was leaning forward with his finger bent in a mock hook; it was a clichéd pose.

I giggled and clapped my hands, playing along, "Aye aye, captain."

"Alright, since we're pirates, we need to find X – the treasure," he stated drawing a large X on the notepad. I agreed with an, "Argh!"

"In order to get to the treasure we sail on our pirate ship," he continued, doodling a simple boat on the pad. "Now, if there's more weight on one side of the ship it rocks to one side, does it not?" I nodded. "So we have to keep it even on both sides so it doesn't tip over, that's what the equals sign does, it keeps it even on both sides so the boat doesn't tip." He drew a big, fat equal sign in the centre of the boat. "As long as that's there the boat can't tip."

I was understanding this. "To keep this balance, whatever we do to one side of the boat, we must do to the other. Like if I take 3 crates away from this side I have to do the same to the other, that's the same with numbers and letters in an algebraic equation. You just have to keep cancelling out the numbers until there's only the _x_ on one side of the equals sign and the equivalent number on the other," he finished.

It all dawned on me now. It was actually so simple, "I understand now! Thank you so much Souma-kun! You really are a miracle worker."

"Don't mention it," he smiled. "Let's go take a break, you did good." I agreed even though I wasn't really doing good, but I needed a break.

"Smoothie and chocolate bar?" he asked. I agreed and we looked around for a vending machine. The high school section offers a lot more conveniences in its hallways.

I felt thoughtful on the walk to the vending machine, when I recalled that Souma-kun had said he had heard about her from his friends. "Hey, Souma-kun, how much do you know about me from your friends?"

"Not much, really," he admitted as he inserted some coins into the machine. "Snickers or Mars?"

"Mars, please." I continued, "Well, what _do_ you know?"

"Here," he said handing me the chocolate. "Well, you were a very bubbly personality, not the brightest, but always willing to help out. Trouble apparently, always seemed to follow you around." I nodded, sweat dropping. "Oh and that you have four Alices: Nullification, Teleportation, Stealing and Insertion Alices, which I find very impressive."

Well, that was still a lot of information. He knew all my Alices too. "Oh, what's your Alice, Souma-kun?"

"My Alice? Well, I have two: Buoyancy and Fire Alices. Pretty cool, huh?" I froze. Fire Alice?... Just like Nastume.

"F-fire Alice?" As far as I could tell, that Alice wasn't very common.

"Yeah," he replied, "it's awesome, haven't you seen it before?" He seemed excited to show me.

"Just like... Natsume," I nearly faltered at the last word.

His face fell a little bit, "Oh, you've seen him, have you? That's right, he was involved in that little riot you caused before." Did he have any idea about our... relationship?

I racked my brain, forcing it to function once more, "Why aren't you in dangerous ability?"

"Well," he began, "Dangerous types are categorised as those who wield Alices so strong they are a threat to the school. Lucky or unluckily for me – you can look at it both ways – I only have an intermittent Alice shape so I'm not that big of a deal. Most of the guys in Dangerous ability have limitless Alice shape."

"I see." But I remembered he had another Alice, "Well, what's the...buoyancy Alice?"

He smiled, he obviously liked the sound of that question, "I can walk on water."

* * *

**Oh yeah! You heard right, Fire Alice! Btw guys, what DO you think of Kiseki x Mikan so far (I know its all friendly friendly but still...)?**

**Well, I'll update tomorrow and I'd LOVE reviews for this chapter .**


	14. Chapter 13: I LOVE YOU, DON'T FORGET

**All the reviews from last chapter made me feel like updating ASAP (as soon as I woke up, actually)**

**I'm glad you all liked it. Judging from the feedback, you'll probably like this one too...**

**Having said that, please enjoy :)**

CHAPTER 13: I LOVE YOU, DON'T FORGET

"Hey, Polka," Natsume asked casually, "where were you last Thursday afternoon?"

"Oh, that," I replied. "I was at a tutoring session in the library."

"The library! That's why I couldn't find you, that's the last place I'd think to look for you."

My sweat dropped. It was true.

"Tutoring program, eh? Making any progress?" he asked slyly. This ticked me off a little bit.

"For your information I'm already up to Middle School mathematics," I announced with pride.

Natsume seemed surprised – I couldn't blame him. "Who's tutoring you? Imai? Whoever it is, they're something else." I ignored the implied insult.

"Souma Kiseki," I chirped in reply. I had been doing so well under his education.

Natsume stopped in his tracks, face tense. I almost walked past him. I turned around in time to see his stoic expression wear off. "Natsume, is something wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"It's nothing," he said coolly. If he hadn't just done something so ridiculously out of character, I would have been convinced. I decided to drop it and change the subject.

"Were you looking for me?"

"Not really, I just find it troublesome when I don't know where you are," he answered. "The things you get up to..." He smirked. I opened my mouth to retort but nothing would come out. What he had just said was the plain truth.

After walking another few metres he stopped me. "Mikan," he said. The fact that he said my name, and not Polka was one thing, but the way he said it was another. It was heavy with emotion and passion. I froze.

He leaned in and kissed me on the lips. It was brief, not giving me a chance to return it. He edged away from my face and whispered in my ear, "I love you, don't forget."

The time it took for me to process those words felt like a millennium. And I was left, standing there in complete and utter shock and confusion. He walked away, ever so casually, and saluted goodbye as he did so.

The time I stood, immobilised may have been a few minutes, but to me, generations could have passed. The words rang in my head: _I love you, don't forget._

~*~ The following text is in third person (keep that in mind for the future, _italics means third person_~*~

_Natsume tried his best to keep his composure. Despite all the effort, he couldn't help but speed walk to the football field. Who was he kidding, he was fuming – even though, he really had no reason to be... yet. An urge to burn everything in his path, engulfed him. Right now, he could have burnt down a building and still wouldn't have been satisfied. He restrained himself._

_As he walked through the hedges he found himself on a wide expanse of well-kept grass: the grounds' football field. He searched around, turning his head violently as he spotted his target. A group of boys playing a friendly match of soccer on one half of the field. He scanned the players and locked his gaze upon one particular, brown-haired boy._

_He stormed towards the ongoing game, a dangerous aura escaping him. Perhaps it was this, that caused the soccer players to stop mid-game. Natsume however, ignored every other player, his eyes set on the one towards the corner of the field, the ball under his foot._

"_Souma," Natsume spat fiercely. The brown haired boy looked fearfully at the vicious puma before him. Souma Kiseki was confused. The guy that stood fuming before him was one that he never had any intention to mess with. Hyuuga Natsume shared the same Alice as him but had always surpassed him in everything. He was in Dangerous Ability, for his Limitless fire Alice. Ever since elementary, he had fan clubs admiring his attitude. Even the 3 star badges he prized were inferior to Natsume's special star badge. Even though the black-haired boy never felt any need to try in his school work, Kiseki knew Natsume's intellect surpassed his own. Kiseki may have tried and excelled in his sports, but the Academy was home to many latent types that could outshine his skills any day. _

_Frankly, Kiseki had never even tried to upset Natsume once. Sure he didn't like him that much but he had accepted his position above him, so what on earth had brought this irate person to him?_

"_Natsume-?" Kiseki asked, confused and a little scared._

_Natsume growled the words slowly, "Don't you dare touch my girlfriend."_

_That statement, or rather, warning only threw Kiseki into further confusion. He asked rather hesistantly, "You... have a girlfriend?"_

_Natsume was pissed that Souma didn't know. So she hadn't told him. "Your precious little star student happens to be my girlfriend."_

"_Oh." Suddenly, Kiseki understood. He had no idea that Mikan and Natsume, of all people, were in a relationship. It didn't seem right, the two characters were complete opposites. He absorbed the nature of Natsume's warning. He was slightly crestfallen to hear the news. He had really taken a liking to Mikan. She was cute and funny and kind. He couldn't help but develop a crush on her._

_Resentment bubbled inside of Kiseki. Mikan was jewel, a jewel that had once again fallen into Natsume's lap. Why must everything Natsume had be better than everything Kiseki had? He had the stronger Alice, the higher star rating, the better brains, the adoring fans... and now Mikan. He was a cold and anti-social guy, he didn't try, he didn't _deserve_ it all. For once, Kiseki felt resilient. He hadn't minded the inferiority before but now, he minded. He minded a lot. _

_The frightened face on the brown-haired boy melted away into determination. "I'm sick of it, Natsume!" Kiseki cried. "You've always had the better bargain. I'm sorry but I don't think I can do that."_

_Natsume was mildly surprised. He hadn't been expecting that._

"_I will make her fall for me," Kiseki said in a low voice, almost as threateningly as Natsume's warning. With that, Kiseki kicked the ball straight through the goals. He ran around to continue the game. The other players followed suit._

_The conversation was over and Natsume was stranded in the middle of a soccer match. He wanted to punch something. He walked away, calmly. A challenge. Perhaps it was necessary and most appropriate. He couldn't have something so wonderful without working for it._

"_AAH!"_

"_Oh my gosh, Ronan! The ball it's on fire!"_

"_My foot! It's burnt!"_

"_Damn you, Natsume!"_

_The last to speak was Kiseki. At that sound, a smile twitched on Natsume's face. _I accept your challenge, Souma,_ h__e thought, _I accept.

* * *

**And the plot thickens... (is it just me, or is Natsume not angry enough?)**

**Oh and for the people who wanted a fight scene, wait it out, you'll get a very good demo of Kiseki's Alices later.**

**Well review please! Friendly reminders might just inspire me to update twice today .**


	15. Chapter 14: FAMILY MATTERS

**Wheee, two updates in one day, thanks to the many reviews (within my school day, might I add)**

**This is a longish chapter, twice my usual (which are pitifully short... sorry) and this is also to make up for me not being able to update tomorrow because I'm extremely busy.**

**I have been dropping a lot of bombshells haven't I... well there's more... this chapter especially (that's all I'll say)**

**Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 14: FAMILY MATTERS

I was on my way to Aoi's shop. It was a Saturday and I didn't have any plans in particular, not even with Natsume. This was a surprise since, lately, he'd been vying for all my spare time. I didn't mind of course, it was just strange. The surprises came even more frequently, and I tried to match them... failing of course. He seemed to be holding on to me very closely. I wouldn't call it controlling, but it was verging on overprotective. As far as I knew, he had no reason to be anymore.

It was both Natsume and my tutoring lessons that were keeping me very busy as of late. Souma-kun had booked me in for more lessons during the week. It was probably because he had a lot to teach me, and one session per week simply wasn't enough. We had been making an awful lot of progress, though. I was already about to start High School Maths. He really was a miracle worker.

His methods of teaching seemed to be the most appropriate approach for me. We'd pretend to be knights, monarchy, thieves, spies and everything else. I guess there was a large part of my ten-year-old self that I still hadn't let go of. How he managed to relate those things to maths, I had no idea. He always seemed to have something figured out before the lesson. Somehow, I'd always end up being the princess.

Natsume, however, seemed unsettled about the tutoring program. Ever since I first mentioned it all those weeks ago, he had never brought it up. I thought it was strange how he reacted to it the first time, but I let it go. Every time I mentioned it, he would only reply with a _'tch'_ then look away or change topic. This actually really annoyed me. I had wanted to tell him how good I've gotten, I wanted him to be proud.

On the other hand, Souma-kun never failed to praise me. He would always be beside himself every time I accomplished something, no matter how small. I kept implying that I didn't need all the praise, that it was his good work that got me this far, but he'd always shake his head and say, _"A teacher is only as good as his student."_

To be honest, I actually enjoyed it. He filled the gap that Natsume left in the area of my academic achievement. It's not like Natsume ever failed to tell me how 'amazing' I was in everything else, but it was nice to have someone acknowledge me for trying my best in a subject I wasn't good at. It felt really good every time Souma-kun would pat my head and tell me, _"Good work!"_ He was like the kind big brother I never had.

I concluded in counting myself lucky. Lucky that I had Nastume for a boyfriend and Souma-kun for a tutor. I couldn't have asked for better. I then found myself wondering whether Natsume and Souma-kun knew each other. If they did, I'm sure they'd be best friends.

The bell rang as I opened the door to the trinket shop in which Aoi worked. I hadn't seen her since the weekend I came back because I had been so busy. Now that I actually had some spare time, I thought that it was best to pay her a visit. I was sure that she didn't lack company though. I caught Ruka-pyon sneaking off to see her many times. They were just too cute.

When I entered, however, my eyes greeted a scene that my brain seemed to reject automatically. It simply didn't make sense. I had walked in to find Aoi sitting at the table, conversing with a boy. Three things hit me. The first was that she seemed very friendly with this boy. The second was that it wasn't Ruka-pyon. Third and foremost was well...

"SOUMA-KUN?" I yelped. It didn't make sense, none at all. Could Souma-kun and Aoi be... never. But how could this be explained?

I looked from Souma-kun to Aoi and back at Souma-kun. The situation wasn't registering properly. What about Ruka-pyon, how could this be happening?

"You-bu-wha-Ruka-huh?" I stuttered badly.

Souma-kun seemed to be just as confused as I was, "Mikan?".

Aoi seemed to figure out my assumption the quickest, "Calm down, Mikan, it's not what you think."

I looked at her questioningly and tried to control my breathing, _it better not be_.

"I am most definitely not cheating on Ruka-pyon," she assured. "I'd never do that to my sweet boyfriend."

"Oh, ok," I calmed down. It wasn't what I thought. That was good. But, then I realised what she said, and once again, I began to hyperventilate, "Boyfriend?" She nodded.

As far as I knew, Ruka-pyon hadn't had the guts to ask her out yet. I sure have missed a lot the past few weeks. I guess that explains Ruka's more frequent visits.

Now it seemed, Souma-kun knew the nature of my outburst, "No, no, it's nothing like that. Aoi and I were just talking."

Ok. That seemed strange to me, "Aoi? Souma-kun? You two know each other?"

They started laughing. I was confused, again. "I guess my dear brother hasn't told her," Aoi giggled. Natsume didn't give a damn thing about anything or anyone to do with my tutoring. I was missing something important, thanks to him.

"Know each other?" Souma-kun sniggered. "We're cousins!"

…

I looked from one to the other in utter disbelief. Aoi and Souma-kun... cousins? But that means that Natsume is his cousin too! I analysed their faces, the resemblance was apparent. I couldn't believe I didn't notice this before. I stared hard at Souma-kun and I noticed something that was enough to make me uneasy. He was actually the spitting image of Natsume.

I suddenly recalled the first time I met him... _messy brown hair and a friendly, playful face that was so new, yet so familiar. _It was familiar because it looked like Natsume. I, for some idiotic reason, never realised due to the different hair and eye colour. I gulped. My stomach churned. I was beginning to feel a little light-headed. A feeling I didn't want to attempt to explain swept over me. Why did I suddenly feel so bad? This was really awkward.

I guessed Souma-kun had sensed the weighty atmosphere because he stood up and said, "Well, I guess I better be going. It was great to talk to you, Aoi."

"S-souma-kun," I choked. Could it be...?

"Honestly, Mikan," he said as he walked towards the door, "I've been teaching you for a couple of months now, just call me Kiseki."

As he was about to walk past me and through the door, he leaned towards me and whispered in my ear, "Besides, even if Aoi wasn't my cousin, why would I like her when I like you."

After hearing that, I just wanted it to stop. I was already feeling sick to my stomach. He left us; me leaning on the counter for support and Aoi, silently observing, not knowing what to say. Aoi beckoned me to take the seat next to her as I choked out another sob. She tried her best to silently comfort me.

It was all just too much. "A-aoi-chan?"

She lent me her ears. Through sobs I managed, "I'm sorry, it's just, a lot for me to process right now."

"Don't worry about it," she said sympathetically, "just tell me what's wrong. Aoi will listen."

"I-I love Natsume, very much," I started. "But then K-Kiseki," it felt so strange to use his first name, but right at the same time, "he came along.

"He was so nice, an amazing teacher and j-just like the b-big brother I never had. I thought that was all, until you told me that they were cousins. I r-remembered when I first saw him, how familiar he looked and at the same time... so new, refreshing. I realised just then how similar he looked to Natsume and for some reason my emotions went haywire.

"Maybe, I think I have feelings for Kiseki. I-I don't know, I just, when I found out, something just rushed through me. That in itself is horrible, but then, what if I don't? What if it's just because he looks like him, and he's nice and he's new and he's an excellent tutor?" I realised how silly it was to be telling all this to Natsume's sister. But she only looked at me with understandingly. For some reason, I didn't need to explain that he was my tutor or anything of the sort, she just knew.

"Then, he goes and tells me that he _likes me_," I continued, my voice rising a tad. "It's too much, it's all too much. What's wrong with me? I'm supposed to only love Natsume, he's done so much for me. He loves me so much, I can't do this to him!" I put my face in my hands. Aoi patted my back.

"I feel so dirty, liking two people at once. It's not even like I wanted to, it's not fair," I concluded.

Aoi waited for my tears to dry out before saying, "Come on, Mikan. I know you're overwhelmed but you shouldn't be in tears like this. The Mikan I know endures, she is strong. You told me that you love onii-san, and that's all he needs from you. You even said so yourself, you may not even really like Souma-pyon. It might be because he looks like Natsume, and to me that sounds like the problem is you liking Natsume too much!" She smiled.

That was true, I still wasn't sure whether I liked him or not, it was just so sudden. My breathing felt easier now. I was glad that I was in Aoi's company.

"But he likes me," I said rather shakily.

"And so what?" Aoi asked. "A billion people can like you, but you can only like one of them, and we both know who that is for you. You don't have to treat Souma-pyon any differently that you did before, same goes for onii-san. Once Souma-pyon realises that you love my brother, he'll be happy for you and move on, I know it." Aoi knew exactly what to say. I was feeling a whole lot better.

"Just take a look at Ruka, wasn't it the same situation back then," she chirped. My sweat dropped, I found it astounding that she could say that with no hesitation whatsoever.

I got up, "Thank you so much, Aoi, for listening to my pointless tears. You really made me feel a lot better."

She smiled, "My pleasure, and tears aren't pointless. They help you relieve yourself. It's ok to cry sometimes, just not all the time." I remembered what everyone used to tell me about my crying face. Back then, I used to cry over the smallest matters. Now those matters seemed to be a lot more trivial.

I was about to walk out when Aoi said, "Keep being strong Mikan, this is hardly over." I turned around to shut the door in time to see Aoi wink at me. What exactly had she and Kiseki been talking about earlier?

* * *

**Phew, I just scrolled down and discovered it IS an acceptable length. And yes... they are cousins (bwahaha, I planned this ever since I introduced his character). Sorry about the random waterworks... I wasn't planning that, it just happened, does that happen to you?  
Anyway, can't update tomorrow but will the next day. I'd really love reviews for this chappie (the reactions are great =])**


	16. Chapter 15: YOU NEVER ASKED

**Ok here's the next chapter, it isn't much but it's necessary.**

**Next chappie should be up tomorrow.**

**I'll hopefully have the whole story finished before exams and study get really hectic.**

CHAPTER 15: YOU NEVER ASKED

I bounced in a rather jolly fashion towards Dangerous Ability class. I had fully recovered from yesterday's sudden trauma and was ready to take on whatever. There was no stopping me from enjoying this day, and the life I was now blessed with after the years of struggle.

Even the long spiral steps to the classroom couldn't weary me. The dungeon door, as usual, creaked open as I entered the Dangerous Ability class. "Mikan-sempai!" a few of the good friends I made chorused in unison. I chuckled and went to greet them.

I had really settled into this class. The limited number of students made it seem like a family. I was in the middle of scolding Souta for an inappropriate comment when I felt someone tug on my sleeve. I looked down to find two grey orbs staring directly at me. It was Yo-chan, looking rather concerned.

"Mikan-sempai, have you been crying?" he asked.

I positioned myself defensively. Was it really that obvious? I thought I had made sure I had no bags under my eyes. I'm certain they weren't swollen either, besides I didn't cry for that long, did I? "No, no! Of course not, what would make you say such a thing? Eh, Yo-chan?" I could feel my face twitch.

"Ok, sorry," he said plainly and went over to poke one of the twins. I discontinued twitching and let out a large sigh of relief. That was close...

It was then that I noticed someone shuffle uneasily in the corner of the room. I looked over at the figure... Natsume. He was surprisingly early, he's usually the last one here, I had no idea he was even in the room.

I went over to join him. I had no doubt that he heard what Yo-chan had said. He examined me closely. I tried my best to look as cheerful as ever, like nothing had happened at all yesterday. Besides, I was feeling particularly good today. Nothing could stop me, that's how I felt.

His gaze slackened, it seems I had convinced him that I was fine. "Morning, Polka," was his greeting. I grinned and leaned on the wall next to him. I hadn't seen him over the weekend at all, I actually didn't know what he was up to.

"Hey Natsume, I didn't see you at all over the weekend. Where did you disappear off to?" I asked. "You know, it's not just you that worries when one of us is gone."

"Missions," he said casually.

"What, really?" He nodded. "How come I don't get asked to go on any yet?" He shrugged.

I never get much out of him. He's as hard as a rock. But I know somewhere in that rock is that vulnerable little kid, from seven years ago. I chuckled. He looked at me questioningly. "It's nothing," I said dismissively.

Suddenly, I remembered something. "Natsume, you never told me that Kiseki-kun was your cousin," I said rather out of the blue. He tensed and his posture shifted in surprise. His eyes widened noticeably when I used "Kiseki-kun" instead of "Souma-kun".

"But then again," I continued, oblivious to his shocked response, eager to get an answer, "you never say anything in relation to my tutoring."

He said nothing.

"Actually, you never say much about yourself, then and now, so I guess it must just be you."

Still nothing.

"Even before, seven years ago," I pressed on, "only Ruka-pyon knew about Aoi, you didn't tell me a thing."

He gasped shortly. I faltered, I may have pushed it a little too far. Aoi's situation all those years ago was sort of a special case, he had the right to keep that to himself. Natsume's history was tainted with hardships, I guess he didn't think it was appropriate to talk about it so openly.

"I-I'm sorry," I choked. This was a bad way to start the day.

There was a long silence following my apology. Being this close to him, I couldn't help but notice his trembling fists.

Natsume finally answered, quite monotonously too, "You never asked."

With that, he walked casually out the dungeon door. I guess he was skipping class again. The door shut with a slam, causing heads to turn. I didn't notice some head swish to look at me. I was simply staring at the door, deep in thought.

Aoi was a special case, that's why Natsume didn't tell anyone. But why didn't Natsume tell me about Kiseki? He had several chances to. Or maybe, there was something going on between them. But, I didn't know, I was always left in the dark, wasn't I?

"Say, Souta," I said as we blazed through the course, it was an alpine theme today – apparently Tsubasa-sempai was watching some documentary yesterday about a man surviving in the snowy alpine. He was as creative as ever – not always a good thing.

"Hm?" was his questioning reply. I was paired with him for today and we were doing well. Actually, I had been doing well with anyone I paired up with. This was a class I actually excelled in.

I felt uneasy asking him the question. What if it was supposed to be a secret, and here I am telling it to the biggest blabbermouth in the academy. _Suck it up_, I told myself, it's Natsume's fault for not telling me in the first place. "What do you know about Souma Kiseki?" I asked, cautiously.

"That Souma guy? Well, not much really," he answered. "He's Natsume's cousin, though, right?"

I nearly tripped over my own feet. "H-how did you know that?"

He shrugged, "It's common knowledge around here."

"Really?" I gasped. "Wait, here as in this class or...?"

"The whole school."

This time I actually tripped. I face planted onto the floor, making Souta yelp in shock.

"Ah! Mikan-sempai, are you alright," he asked.

I groaned.

* * *

**Well, reviews are appreciated.**


	17. Chapter 16: TOP OF THE WORLD

**Newwww Chaaappterr**

**Thank you to my reviewers ^ ^,**

**I dunno, for some reason the title of this chapter reminds me of the carpenters song lol, where did that come from?**

CHAPTER 16: TOP OF THE WORLD

The following few weeks, between me and Natsume, were devoid of anything to do with my tutoring (though, they kept continuing as usual) or Souma Kiseki. I knew Natsume was hiding something from me, but I didn't feel in any position to ask.

Why? Why was I the only person, it seemed, the he didn't tell. It frustrated me that his girlfriend, his 'reason for living', shouldn't know a fact as simple as that. Everyone assumed I knew, but Natsume didn't think it was important enough to mention. He was my tutor, it seemed very relevant to me.

I snatched up my books and made for the doorway, still with bitter thoughts in my head. It's not that I didn't love him, I just felt... betrayed. Another thought occurred to me. _But Natsume always has a reason for doing things. Ruka had even said so; he does things in a way where he puts himself at fault, he's always thinking about others._

I shook my head furiously in confusion. I just didn't get him. Class was over and I wasn't looking forward to an afternoon full of frustrating thoughts. I looked down, unamused, "Tch." Why must I be put through this?

I gasped, as someone suddenly grabbed my wrist. Before I could even look up I was being pulled – no, dragged – away. I looked up to see who my kidnapper was, Kiseki-kun. The shock and mild confusion in my face wore off into a smile. Sure, this was a surprise, but it was something I needed: something to take my mind off of things, and that seemed to be Kiseki-kun's specialty.

My captor laughed softly. I laughed too, what the heck? This was amusing. We were running through the school, boldly interrupting the slow and steady pace of the rest of the students. But, where exactly were we heading to? It didn't seem like we were heading to any of the buildings I knew. Curiosity swept over me.

"Kiseki-kun, where are we going?" I asked, slightly out of breath.

Kiseki chuckled, "You'll see." He didn't seem flustered at all. _So fit!_

I allowed myself to be towed to who-knows-where. I had half forgotten about my trivial concerns, by now. I guess I should just enjoy the surprise he had planned for me.

We ran past some hedges and found ourselves in a large clearing. My eyes adjusted to the sudden flood of light and I recognised where we were. This was the grounds' football field. Did we really run this far?

My eyes adjusted further and I heard myself gasp. The neatly mown ground was interrupted by a very out of place sight. A beautiful little pond lay so unnaturally in the middle of the field. The water was sparkling in the sunlight and looked so inviting. But what amazed me the most was the medium sized fountain that gushed in the centre of the water. As far as the eye could see, there didn't seem to be any machine assisting the fountain, it was like a natural geyser.

I heard a chuckle to my right, but I didn't – couldn't – tear my eyes from the scene. "You said," spoke Kiseki as I finally turned to him, beaming, "that you wanted to see my Alice."

* * *

"Yup, that's it," encouraged Kiseki as I hesitantly place my feet on his. Just moments ago, he had stepped gracefully on the water's surface... and stayed there. He didn't sink. The water was still, so he didn't bob either. I stared in amazement.

_He stepped forward, his feet steady, his balance unshaken. I stared. First at the water, then at his feet. I brought my gaze up to his face, which smiled warmly. I looked back at the water. I've seen many Alices in my day, but I never thought that the 'Bouyancy Alice' would make it to my list of favourites. _

_How amazing would that feel? A part of me yearned to be able to frolic around the pond. As if reading my thoughts, he held out a hand._

My grip on his hand must have been painfully firm, but his tensed arm didn't fail to provide a solid support. Stepping one shaky foot and another onto his, he pulled me upright. I repeated the process of looking down at my feet, then at the waters around me. My eyes glistened in wonder. This was surreal.

I looked up to see Kiseki gazing down at me. His stare made me blush and look away but, nonetheless, he held it. I began to laugh. I closed my eyes and spread out my arms. I leant back,supported by Kiseki's arms around my waist. I pointed my face to the sky and just let it sink in. This was a feeling I couldn't describe.

I kept laughing all the way. It was like walking on water was the first step to unlocking so many more possibilities. I finally retracted from my clichéd pose. This was simply amazing.

A thought occurred to me that perhaps should have been brought to my attention earlier. "Wait," I started, "how did all this water get here?"

Kiseki chuckled, "I have a friend. She has the Water Alice."

Water Alice. Water Alice? There's only one person in this school who I know has the water Alice. "Kiseki, you know Haruka-san?"

"Yeah, we play hockey together every now and then," he said.

I once again examined the pond, it was beautiful. The fountain and everything. "She really outdid herself here," I voiced. For her to do such a big favour for Kiseki, I never thought she'd do something like this for just anyone. "Hey, how'd you get her to do this anyway."

With a mischievous glint in his eye (that reminded me of someone... but I pushed the thought away) he said, "Well, Haruka owes me a few, and I think you'll find that I can be very persuasive." He smiled jokingly.

I laughed with him. My worries all seemed to disappear. Here, I was on top of the world.

* * *

**There, finally some Kiseki x Mikan**

**I dunno with you guys, but I quite like Kiseki ^ ^**

**More Kisekan (on the spot pet name...) coming at ya, but then who knows Natsume could just crash the party... muahaha**

**I'll update if I can tomorrow, I just spent some time editing the remaining chapters**

**Reviews are appreciated**


	18. Chapter 17: I DIDN'T KNOW

**Welllllllllllll, here's the new chapter**

**You got some Kisekan/Miseki/Kikan/Kisekikan (whatever you wanna call it) in the last chapter... you're getting more in this one...sort of**

**Anyway, wrote my first fic for maid-sama yesterday and posted it (twoxshot)**

**Please enjoy this chapter ^ ^**

CHAPTER 17: I DIDN'T KNOW

"Wait," he said suddenly, as if a thought had occurred to him too, "how do _you_ know Haruka?"

"Oh," I said. "Well her strong elemental Alice puts her in dangerous ability too. I mean for someone to be able to tear the grounds up like this, she does pose as a threat to the school."

Realisation dawned on his face, which fell a little at the mention of dangerous ability. Every time I mention that class, I had noticed a little bit of … contempt? Perhaps envy? He never let it become obvious. Like he did now, he put on a smile as if it never affected him, "And who knows what Haruka would do if she felt like it..."

We laughed, that rebel girl had some temper and some attitude. The things she would do if she was left to her own devices were bound only by the imagination.

I, once again, looked around the pond, admiring Haruka's work. She could do beautiful things if she wanted to. My eyes fell on the fountain. "It's a shame we can't walk with me on your feet," I muttered.

He followed my gaze to the fountain. He looked at me decisively and before I knew it I was hoisted up into his arms, princess style. I gasped in shock, but for the same reason, couldn't speak. He carried me all the way to the centre of the pond, beside the natural fountain. I was shocked speechless the whole way.

Carefully, he set me back down and onto his feet. I was beginning to recover when he said, "There." He looked quite accomplished and satisfied. I blushed...again. I decided that it wasn't healthy to have so much blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Th-thanks...?" I mumbled, not knowing quite what to say.

"No problem," this person's grin was really very infectious.

I reached my arm out to the fountain. My hand was held out to a point where I wasn't quite touching the moving water but just let the soft spray sprinkle onto my palm. I drew my hand across, through the misty curtain of the spray.

The fountain was radiating an aura of peace and tranquillity. As the water fell back into the pond and splashed upon impact on the surface of the water, my ankles became wet. With my hands and ankles dotted with water droplets, I felt, even a little, part of the fountain.

I whipped my head around to look at Kiseki only to find he was still gazing at me. Had he been doing that the whole time? Determined not to blush anymore, I said again firmly, "Thank you."

He seemed pleased at my gratitude. His eyes bore into mine, and for the first time the stare was starting to make me uncomfortable.

Only now did I realise how close we actually were. The fact that he was the only thing keeping me from sinking demanded that we remained holding on tight to each other. It occurred to me that this position may send the wrong message to anyone who could be watching.

I felt the urge to look around and make sure that we were alone, but his gaze locked into mine. I was losing the battle against my reddening face, which was dangerously near his.

A little more than an inch. I could feel his breath on my cheeks.

Just about an inch, his sienna eyes were actually a mixture or browns and reds.

Less than an inch. Alarm bells seemed to ring in the very depths and corners of my mind.

Our noses were touching.

Before I knew it, so were our lips.

His eyes closed while mine widened.

The kiss was brief, but sweet.

A peck.

He withdrew from me and saw my seemingly permanent mask of surprise and shock and a whole lot of other emotions. I was feeling so many that I don't think all of them could be conveyed on my face.

His eyes studied me, looking for the response he wanted.

It took so much effort to recover as quick as I did. I forced everything to the back of my mind. I guess he deserved an answer, but the one I was going to give him was no where near clear, and no where near what he wanted.

"I-I," I started, looking for the right words to say, "I care about you Kiseki, I do but -" I was cut of by the tears beginning to well in my eyes.

His look pressed me into continuing. _But...what?_ His eyes seemed to say.

"But, I just can't," I continued. "This can't be happening and I'm not..." I tried as much as possible to make the following words sting a little as I could, "I don't think I have the same feelings for you as you do for me."

He looked at me with sad eyes. "I'm sorry," I finished.

With that I pulled away from him, not caring that as I stepped back my legs sank shin-deep into the pond. I was sort of relieved that Haruka had kept it shallow. I turned, the tears pouring silently from my face, and ran away.

I left him there, standing on the water, rejected. As much as I felt bad for hurting him, I also felt guilty and confused. So I didn't like him after all. So this tremendous guilt I felt was because of Natsume. So I loved him and nobody else.

My conclusion should have made me feel better. But it didn't. I had still just sliced straight through one of my best friends' heart. I had still just kissed another guy who _wasn't_ my boyfriend. I was still so confused. I still didn't know what to do.

But aside from not knowing what to do, there was something else I didn't know. I didn't know that a particular ebony-haired boy was standing in a nearby tree after just witnessing the passing events. I didn't know that that particular crimson-eyed boy was feeling enough rage to burn the entire tree on which he stood down. I didn't know all of that, and perhaps it was best that I never did.

* * *

**I'm sure you all know who that kid is.**

**Oh yeah... it's gonna get heckas real soon**

**Thanks for reading and reviews would be awesome!**


	19. Chapter 18: YOU

**Wow, heaps of reviews for the laster chapter (YAY! Thank you guys, you're epic!)**

**Everyone's for Natsumikan (which is healthy, so good job) and so am I (or not? *evil laugh*)**

**Including this one, only four more chapters to go 0.0**

**Welllll, please enjoy ^.^**

CHAPTER 18: YOU

_Souma Kiseki stood there. Conflicting emotions threatened to overwhelm him. He had just kissed the girl he liked. The girl he liked had just rejected him. He was feeling sad and disappointed that she did not return his feelings. But for some reason, he felt guilty and sick for making her cry. _

_But he knew, there was another thing nagging at the back of his mind that he didn't want to accept. He was feeling crushed. He was feeling angry. He was feeling contempt for the person he had, once again, lost to... Hyuuga Natsume, his first cousin._

_Right on cue, he saw a flash in the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around to find none other than his rival himself. How long had he been there? Was he hiding in the tree? What the hell is up with him? These questions were running through Kiseki's mind. He felt like spitting them all out to the crimson-eyed boy in the rudest way possible, but decided to hold his tongue and wait for him to speak._

_Once he was sure that Kiseki had accepted his presence, Natsume spoke. Now, he didn't answer any of Kiseki's questions, not at all. He merely growled in a low and dangerous voice, "You made her cry, and I can't forgive you so easily for that."_

I was in the middle of running and sobbing to who knows where. My feelings were out of whack and I couldn't think straight. All I knew was that I needed to get away from there. I needed to recover.

One thing I didn't need, was what exactly happened just then. A group of students had just run past me, in the opposite direction. One of them, Hotaru, did not fail to grab and drag me along with them back to where I had just come from. Back to where I had just left my heartbroken friend.

The recent events had happened all in a flash, in less than a few seconds. I was, of course, utterly confused and finding it extremely hard to retrieve my bearings. I was about to open my mouth when I realised it was covered, or rather, taped. My eyes expanded in surprise. I attempted to bring my hand up to remove it from my mouth when I realised, in equal surprise, that I was bound by some sort of rope.

I turned my head to find that I was mercilessly being dragged on a leash – connected to the rope binding me – by none other than my best friend. How it mysteriously appeared on me in less than a second, without me noticing, was unknown. But I had a feeling that Hotaru had developed some sort of contraption to achieve this.

My brain had officially decided to shut down 80% of its cells, preventing me from comprehending any of the past events. I decided not to defy its decision. Perhaps it was the best. Instead, I decided on focusing on what was happening right now. And since I was unable to move or speak, I resorted to observing the current situation.

We were running back to the scene I was desperate to leave. Hotaru was pulling me back with them – them being Koko, Ruka and herself. Hotaru had a large, strange, metal cap on Koko's head. There were screws here and there and lights dotting it. It looked very technical, as if it were about to suck all the information out of his head. The cap seemed to be connected to Hotaru's old panda earphones which she currently had on.

"Can you hear them, Koko?" asked Ruka urgently. "What's happening?"

"Yeah, their thoughts are pretty loud," Koko confirmed. "Imai, can you?"

Hotaru nodded and listened intently to her earphones. "The conversation seems to be heating up, but it's only just begun. Natsume just scolded him for making the baka cry." Why was I sure that the baka was me?

"Oh really?" questioned Ruka in interest. "You can really hear all the thoughts that Koko hears with that invention." She nodded.

"It's a good thing Aoi tipped you off about this feud, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to track them," Koko told Ruka.

"Yes," Hotaru agreed. "Once Souma-san dragged Mikan off, and you saw Natsume follow them, we knew something was gonna be up and I had time to prepare the equipment."

Koko turned to me, "Mikan your thoughts were so loud! That's how we found you so easily. But now for some reason they've dropped to a low buzz. Are you okay?"

I shrugged. I didn't want to think about thinking. I didn't want to think at all. My brain had already shut down for the most part. I was only half-heartedly comprehending what my captors were saying. A part of me longed for my whole brain to shut down. Being brain dead sounded very peaceful and welcoming right now.

It was obvious that Koko had been 'convinced' by Hotaru to be used as a tracking and listening device. She had probably thought of some way she could profit from this. Koko seemed mildly interested though, he didn't seem to mind being used equipment. In fact, he looked like he was enjoying himself.

Ruka on the other hand looked worried sick. "Natsume," he mumbled under his breath, "don't do anything reckless, please." Natsume? What about Natsume? What was going on? They seemed to know more about this than I did. Alas, my brain stubbornly refused to comprehend any of this.

We were nearing the clearing onto the field. But, instead of heading through the opening between the bushes, the party had jumped straight into one of them, dragging my half conscious self along.

We briefly adjusted our positions within the shrubbery and peered out onto the scene on the field.

Hotaru had conveniently packed a pair of binoculars. However, it did not seem to be needed because the only two people on the grounds were within ten metres of our hiding spot and could be heard perfectly clear. Instead, Hotaru pulled a video camera out of her pack, and after adjusting the mic, she began filming the scene that played out before us.

I turned my attention to the two boys on the field. Alarm bells started ringing when I realised who they were. It was Kiseki, there where I left him. But it was who he was staring intensely at that shocked me... Natsume.

Had he been there the whole time? Did he see... everything? I choked on a sob. The atmosphere between the two seemed heavy, very tense. My attention was focused on the two people in front of me. Parts of my brain began to function again, all in an attempt to understand this situation.

Why were they both there? Why were they looking each at other with such contemptuous eyes? Why was the air so thick with loathing and burning anger that it made me sick? I felt my eyes water when I realised that it was Natsume and Kiseki. My boyfriend and beloved tutor and friend were the two people in this situation with such hatefulness between them. Why? Why on earth would they be doing this?

Koko, obviously hearing my thoughts, turned to me, "Well, why else?"

I looked at him questioningly.

"You."

* * *

**She's so thick... :P I liked writing this chapter :)**

**Well next two chapters will be lotsa Kiseki and Natsume stuff (fighting/forgiving/both?)**

**I love those reviews, so pretty please keep 'em coming (Y)**

**New chapter should be up tomorrow**


	20. Chapter 19: HEATING UP

**This is more than double what I normally write and also the second last chapter (0.0)**

**I haven't put a disclaimer since prologue so here it is again:**

**I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE, THAT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIGUCHI TACHIBANA**

**I DO NOT OWN 'A WHOLE NEW WORLD', THAT IS THE PROPERTY OF LAINEY-CHAN (I ONLY THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY AWESOME! A FANFIC OF A FANFIC, IF YOU WILL)**

CHAPTER 19: HEATING UP

_Me?_

They... were fighting over... me? Thanks to my now functioning brain – that was, in an attempt to figure out what was going on, now working overtime and better than usual – everything clicked into place. That's why Kiseki was always trying to spend time with me; always praising me; always smiling at me. That's why Natsume was so over protective; never mentioning Kiseki or my lessons; telling me he loved me with such emotion.

After shaking his head at the unfortunate scene on the playing field, Ruka looked over at me and with a concerned voice, asked, "Mikan? You okay?" I merely gulped. They knew about it too. The mind reading, the chasing, the filming. It was clear as day as to how we were in this situation.

Aoi knew, too. That's what she and Kiseki were talking about. That's how she knew. That's how Ruka and Hotaru and Koko knew. That's why I didn't need to explain anything to her. She didn't tell me about it. It made me a little angry but then I remembered how much of a comfort she was, and all anger faded away.

I was so thick. I didn't realise the obvious that happened around me. Now Natsume and Kiseki were about to get into an inevitable argument. Now me and Ruka (and Hotaru and Koko, no matter how they may act) were beside ourselves with worry. And I knew exactly why.

Choking back a sob, realising the tape around my mouth had disappeared, I managed feebly, "This is all my fault." Ruka seemed slightly shocked, but then put on a grave face. _So you finally realised?_ His face seemed to say.

"Baka, it's because you're too likeable," Hotaru half scolded. I managed a weak smile. She had, in her own twisted way, just complimented me. They were rare. She, being my best friend, knew how to cheer me up. I gave her a hug. She enjoyed the first five seconds of it, but after that her glare undoubtedly said _get off me_.

"Um, sorry to be insensitive but..." Koko interrupted and pointed a finger to the field. We all turned our heads towards the two boys, who had since now, just been glaring at each other.

Kiseki was first to break the painful silence. He drew a deep breath and with a quick half-cringe, half-sob he shouted, "I TOLD YOU BEFORE, NATSUME! I'M SICK OF IT!"

Natsume showed shock at the outburst but then narrowed his eyes. To be honest, I was shocked too. This was completely out of Kiseki's character.

"All the time, over all these years, you've been the better one. The big boy of the family. Better than little old Kiseki anyday. Excelling in everything, soaking up all the glory." There was venom in Kiseki's words.

"I didn't -" Natsume said tensely.

"TO HELL YOU DIDN'T! You've been better than me at everything. You had the brains; the smartest kid in the street. But for some reason, you didn't think it was necessary to use them. But no, nobody put you down for that. In fact, it made you look _cool_. You even managed to attain a fan-club. I just don't get it. You don't give a damn and you still become popular!" I watched, horrified, as Kiseki spat it all out. He didn't understand. He didn't understand Natsume at all.

Natsume stood stock still – lips glued shut – and waited for him to continue, glaring all the while. And Kiseki did continue, with as much passionate rage as before, "But it wasn't only your intellect. No. What made you _better_ than everyone else was your _Alice. _It was in your blood to be a Fire Alice. The feared and powerful Fire Alice. And what really ticks me off, is that it was in _my _blood too. And you ended up with the limitless one. The type that was, again, superior to mine."

The tears were pouring silently down my face. Hotaru wasn't complaining though. She was eagerly recording the exchange of words. I had no idea Kiseki felt this way. The feeling of contempt for the Dangerous Ability made sense now. It's not like he hated the people in it, just the fact that is existed and reminded him of what he wasn't. But then, that's not what it's for. How could he envy people who were classified as dangerous? Kiseki... you've got it all wrong.

Kiseki looked with burning eyes at his rival. Nastume, who was obviously affected by that last outburst, said tersely, "I never wanted this Alice."

"OH, PLEASE!" Kiseki screamed, shutting Natsume right up. "Don't give me that I-never-wanted-this-Alice noble crap!" I felt Ruka whimper slightly beside me. Natsume... why aren't you elaborating? Make him see why you act like this! He doesn't understand. I felt like yelling out when I realised the tape was somehow on my mouth again. My friends seem to think it best that I didn't get myself involved any further.

"Is it just me, or has this backfired on Natsume," mumbled Koko. But then, when I looked at Natsume, I couldn't help but think there was a plan behind his silence. At least, I hoped there was a plan.

"I've been living in your shadow my whole life, Natsume! My sporting is the only thing keeping me from falling to the side. This whole time I've been okay with that. I was accepting of it. You were the better one and always will be – but that never stopped me from disliking you. But then Mikan came along. She was brilliant in every way. But it seems she fell right into your lap as well, didn't she? You could have any girl you want and I swear, if you're just using her Natsume... then that's the last straw."

I was beyond shocked. Did he think that Natsume used his status and popularity to make me fall in love with him? Come to think of it, I don't think he ever knew about me and Natsume before; how our relationship had to go a long way.

"She turned me down, Natsume. And I can't help but feel resentment boiling inside of me when I realise it's because of you. Everything. You have everything. Now you came here to _punish_ me? What more do you want from me, Natsume?" There were tears trickling down his face, his composure out the window. He looked crushed.

Natsume examined him intently. Seeing Kiseki like this made me feel sick. Just as my emotions had gotten messed up, I'm sure his were too. Those hurtful words, he may have meant them, but when feelings have been toyed with too much, you say things, that you never mean too.

Natsume's face was a mask, only his eyes would give anything away – and right now, they were burning. I could see his fists trembling and had a sure feeling that he was all tensed up. He was restraining himself, a lot. I didn't know why, and perhaps it was best if he did, but how could he exercise so much restraint when I knew he was raging. His eyes flickered briefly, he was thinking hard.

Natsume's face seemed to relax, indicating that he had come to a conclusion. He didn't get mad. He didn't speak. Me and the rest of the eavesdroppers were expecting him to go on a rampage. He waited and looked expectantly at his cousin. Natsume's eyes trasferred a message to Kiseki. They bore right into the weeping boy. They could have been staring at each other for eternity. Gulping, Kiseki seemed to have understood. He looked shameful, guilty. After a few moments, and after regaining his composure and calming down a bit, Kiseki spoke.

"You know, Natsume, you are the only one in the world who could make me that enraged at my own family. And you're probably the only guy that could make me say what I'm about to say. I know you know that I lost it a bit there. But, I do feel that way about you. You act all cool and careless, you are amazing talented. It makes me despise you. I admit it, it makes me envy you."

Me and the rest of the party in the bushes were thrown into utter confusion (except maybe Koko, he looked as if he would enjoy eating popcorn right now). Why did Kiseki just calm down? Why was he addressing Natsume so... fondly? And yet he was saying how much he despised him. Natsume on the other hand seemed so calm, so understanding. Something had definitely happened in the silence after Kiseki's outburst. Natsume had somehow telepathically communicated something to Kiseki.

"I guess I just don't understand you, Natsume. It seems like you are that bastard that I described in every way. But, there's something in the back of my mind that defies it all. You frustrate me Hyuuga Natsume." So he knew he didn't understand. But then, what is he talking about?

"Say, Natsume," he asked. "Do you remember that week, when we were six?"

Natsume nodded slowly. Kiseki seemed pleased about it, but he decided to recount the story anyway.

"Your family was staying over at my family's house for the holiday. I had heard so many cool things about you. My parents and relatives would praise you so much. It made me jealous. I had decided to make you my rival even before you arrived.

"Then your family came. Aoi was great, I took to her right away. But you, you always kept yourself isolated. You rarely spoke to anyone but Aoi. You addressed the adults politely and accepted all of their compliments. I grew less and less fond of you.

"Everything changed on the second day of your stay. I was outside playing with Aoi. We were climbing the fence in the garden. All of a sudden Aoi lost her balance and fell. I, of course, exclaimed 'Aoi-chan! NO!' but I couldn't help her. Out of no where you appeared and caught her.

"She thanked her nii-chan and you told her to be more careful. Then you looked up at me. I started to feel scared. I thought you were gonna scold me for putting Aoi in danger. But you didn't. Instead, you said, 'You're nice to Aoi, I wanna be friends.'"

"For the next few days we became close. You never said much but it was pleasant to spend time with you. I could've sworn you were having fun, too. We were like brothers, that's what the grown-ups would say. You were very nice, you'd give me and Aoi your share of biscuits. You'd always look out for us. You became my best friend

"But then on the last day, that incident happened. I was running around in the backyard with you. I was saying something about playing a game by the tree which I was running speedily towards. But you pushed me over saying, 'That's stupid. You're stupid.' It took be by surprise, you saying that. You would never say that. Your parents were calling you to leave, you had no time to elaborate. You left me in tears shouting, 'I hate you, Natsume!'"

"I reverted to my old way of thinking immediately. You were just some glorified prodigy. A stuck up bastard. A few days later my dad discovered a bull-ant nest around the back behind the tree. Of course, I wondered whether you knew that. But I dismissed the thought. Why would you make me hate you for my sake. It didn't seem like the guy I made myself think was you.

"Sure, we'd see each other at future family gatherings but I made sure to stay as far away from you as possible. You made that easy, always keeping to yourself; never even trying to approach me. I decided that I wouldn't mingle with people like you ever again."

Silence. That was typical Natsume to do that. Ruka told me he always makes himself the villain for the sake of others. I didn't know they had such a relationship. To be honest, I was slightly relieved. I knew that bonds like that never disappear. They may fade but they never disappear. Nonetheless, I was getting anxious.

"Just tell me, Natsume," Kiseki said earnestly, "did you know that ant nest was there? Did you push me down for my sake? I need to know. I need to make a proper conclusion about you."

Natsume thought hard for an answer. He chose his words carefully, considering the outcome.

"Even if I did say yes," Natsume replied slowly, "would that change your outlook on me being a glorified prodigy or stuck up bastard?"

Kiseki's eyes widened, but then he smiled and said, "If you did say yes, I'd still think you were a glorified prodigy and stuck up bastard. But you'd be my friend and cousin, the glorified prodigy and stuck up bastard."

A smile played on the outline of Natsume's mouth, "Then maybe."

Kiseki's grin grew even larger, "That's good enough for me."

I felt so relieved. I never expected guys to be able to work out their problems like that. I sighed. Ruka's eyes were glistening, he was obviously proud of Natsume. Hotaru looked a little bit disappointed but then an evil smirk appeared on her face. I don't really want to know why. Koko's eyes were huge, this was ten times better than a movie for him.

"That's not all is it?" Natsume's face turned serious again.

Kiseki's grin turned into a smirk, "No, it isn't. I still don't know if you're just toying with Mikan or not. I can't let that slip by so easily."

Natsume's eyes narrowed, "Just what do you plan to do about that?"

Kiseki's eyes blazed with determination, "Fight me."

Natsume seemed mildly surprised at that outburst. So were Hotaru, Ruka and I. "Are you forgetting that I have a limitless Alice? Do you think I'll go easy on you? Because I won't."

Kiseki urged, "Beat me and I'll know you really care about her."

Was he asking for defeat? "I don't see how that will solve your problem."

"Oh come on, Natsume," Kiseki smirked again, "we're cousins. I'm sure you wanna burn something as bad as I do right now. Besides, we're guys, feelings of hate don't wear off so easy. This'll be the first step to letting them out."

Natsume smirked too. "Yeah, I actually do feel like burning your arm off right now, and you've just given me a reason to. You're on, Souma." I guess Kiseki was right with the hatefulness taking a while to go away.

My eyes widened in shock. Ruka's face fell. Hotaru's face seemed delighted. So was Koko's. They were gonna fight? I thought they put aside their differences?

Koko seemed so eager for action, "Things are going to heat up, literally."

* * *

**Please, PLEASE don't hate me for that. I know you all find Kiseki 'annoying' (the exact words by many reviewers lol) but when I wrote it, I felt I just HAD to resolve it first. It's my first fic and also the longest thing I have EVER written. I suck at complications/climaxes so please be lenient.**

**I promise you'll get a good fight next chapter :D Also, as you can see, I wasn't mean enough to break Natsume and Mikan up... it IS a Natsumikan fic...**

**Next chapter will probably be up tomorrow (dunno, bit busy, but it should be)**

**BTW, this is random but I felt I had to say it:**

**For PERCY JACKSON readers! The first fic (how I discovered this site) I read here was called 'Broken Bow' by Xed Alpha. It's freaking epic. It's like a storyline of its own. READ IT NOW! GO! When you're done, read Broken Bow 2 and 3... and 4 (for the Artemis Fowl readers) SO GO READ IT NOW! ITS AMAZING!**

**Well, reviews please (I'm sure you're dying to comment/)**


	21. Chapter 20: THE IGARASHI WAY

**Here come's the highly expected FIGHT SCENE (ftw!) Another long chapter (ftw!)**

**This is the second last chapter and basically the peak and end of the climax.**

**Oh and, 20 chapters and 50 reviews... you guys pwn!**

**Please forgive the beginning for being a bit corny... perhaps it was Avatar: The Last Airbender inspired, even though I haven't watched that show in over a year... Also Igarashi is Natsume's mum's surname (Igarashi Kaoru), which, for those of you who paid attention would know.**

CHAPTER 20: THE IGARASHI WAY

A flame appeared in the palm of Natsume's hand. The same happened with Kiseki. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've seen Kiseki use his Fire Alice. My lip was trembling. What is this?

"I trust you know how the Igarashi family organises it's duels," said Kiseki, face turning serious.

"Of course," Natsume answered. "Never before has there been a bloodline so thick with an elemental Alice. All inheritors of the Fire Alice are taught how to control them, and use them in battle."

Kiseki nodded, "It is the responsibility of the Igarashi bloodline. In order to train, we must battle. Relatives would always host brawls at family gatherings."

"The rules are simple," Natsume stated. "No fatal attacks. No dirty tricks. Only the Fire Alice is allowed. The first to burn is victorious. The first to be burned must admit defeat."

"We must manipulate the flame," quoted Natsume. They began to slowly walk around in a circle.

"We must fight fire with fire," continued Kiseki, a smirk on his face.

"To bend the burning ember to our will,"

"and meld the smoke into our sword."

"We fight for dignity; we fight for respect; we fight for nobility," they chanted together.

"That is the Igarashi way!" With that, they lunged at each other. Flames in hand.

As they ran towards each other they managed a brief exchange in words. "You remember the pre-duel chant. Personally I thought it was a little too clichéd," Kiseki noted, impressed.

"Sure, it was pathetic but it was the courtesy of the fight, besides, I only needed to hear it once to remember," replied Natsume.

I tried to cover my eyes but couldn't. I wanted to know how the others reacted to this but my eyes wouldn't tear away from the fight.

Just as they were about to collide, both of them dropped their flames. Kiseki went for a physical approach and made to roundhouse kick his opponent. Natsume swiftly leapt six feet into the air, and gracefully touched down a few metres behind Kiseki.

"I see," Kiseki said as he ran forward, fist at the ready, "they don't call you Black Cat for nothing." A flame engulfed his ready fist as he neared Natsume. He went in for the punch but the black-haired boy dodged it by quickly moving to the side. This did not bother Kiseki. He instead reared his other fist and went in for another punch which was again, easily evaded by Natsume.

Kiseki kept the blows coming. He alternated from a fist to a flat palm, striking at various points on Natsume's trunk. On occasion he would go for a kick or a lower attack. All the while a red flame would cover his attacking hands. I never knew that there were so many different types of punches and hand to hand combat moves.

"I see you've learned your fair share of martial arts, Souma," noticed Natsume, who had continued to dodge each blow, seemingly with ease. He would turn to the left, then to the right, he'd duck, then keeping low he'd skid to the right. Although, he was being forced backwards by the constant spray of attacks he hadn't a scratch. I never realised Natsume was so agile.

"You're not so bad yourself," Kiseki remarked as he went in for a picture-worthy punch. Natsume had once again leapt into the air. He did a back flip and landed five or so metres away, facing his opponent. Kiseki was still standing in his combat position. One fist at the end of a perfectly straight, outstretched arm; the other near his face, at the ready; his feet spread widely apart, in a balanced stance, left foot in front. Neither of them had broken a sweat.

"The Black Ops had its benefits," Natsume explained. He was standing up straight, perfect posture. Up until now he had only been on the defensive side. Kiseki's continuous attacks gave him no time to counter, only to dodge. Both of them took a brief moment to catch their breath.

"Now then," began Natsume and a ring of fire erupted from the ground and surrounded the two boys, "is that all you can do with your Alice?"

The air was thick with heat and I found myself sweating. Ruka was too, but I think it was because of the fight and not the heat. He and I both obviously wanted to stop the fight, but I was wrapped up and Ruka had more common sense than to break up _that _fight. Koko was somehow unaffected by the sudden change in temperature and his eyes were just glued to the fight scene. Hotaru had some automatic mini-fan at her side, keeping her cool. Something tells me she had no intention of sharing.

During the whole fight, the smirk hadn't once disappeared off Kiseki's face. If possible, his smile grew even larger at that challenge. "Don't underestimate me, Natsume," he warned. "I may not be a Limitless Alice shape, but I'm not a Diffuse either. I'm an intermittent Alice." He said the last part proudly. Natsume's eyes narrowed and the flames grew from two feet tall to three feet tall.

"Intermittent," Kiseki quoted as a flame ignited in the palm of his hand, "the Alice that can only be used for a short period of time but at a relatively high power level." Another flame appeared in his other hand. Her drew the two flames together. As they touched, the effect was immediate. The flames absorbed each other and grew twice the size. It took the form of a sphere, a miniature sun, if you will.

"And you better believe," Kiseki exclaimed as he reared the flaming sphere with both of his hands, "that I intend to end this quick." He threw his hands forward and the ball of fire turned into a flaming projectile.

Natsume, who was shocked at the sudden display of skill, had only seconds to react. A scaled down version of a shooting star was heading directly at him. In the last moment Natsume sprinted to the left. As he ran, he shot strips of fire towards the brown-haired boy. Kiseki, who was slightly out of breath from forming the ball of fire, could only block the burning bands with his own flame. He swung out his arm creating a barrier of fire into which Natsume's attack got absorbed.

Only then could I notice the impact of Kiseki's 'shooting star' on the ground it hit. A crater the size of a hot tub lay in a smoking heap where it had landed. Hotaru seemed to have noticed it too, "That's a lot of skill for an intermittent Alice."

"Well, well," Natsume breathed – I noticed that both of them were out of breath, "you've mangaed to impress me."

"Come on, it's your turn," Kiseki teased. "Don't hold back, kitty cat."

I never realised Kiseki was this strong with his Fire Alice. He always seemed reluctant to show it to me, because I'd already seen Natsume's. If he could make Natsume this tired, why did he think his Alice was so inferior to Natsume's? I was about to find out.

Natsume seemed a bit peeved at the last comment, "If you insist."

Suddenly the water in the pond began to sputter and bubble. Steam started rising from the surface of the water. Soon, the entirety of the pond was a mess in motion. The water was reacting more and more violently and the steam was hissing loudly. He was evaporating the pond!

We all looked at him in disbelief when we figured out what was happening. He was standing stock still, in a seemingly relaxed pose. He was definitely concentrating, but it looked as if this feat was effortless.

Kiseki also wore a look of amazement as the water rapidly turned into a thick cloud of mist. The steam was becoming denser and denser until I couldn't make out the figures of the two opponents anymore. Luckily Hotaru had come prepared. She switched her camera to some sort of special mode and when I peeked at the screen, I could see them again. Everyone had to inch closer to Hotaru in order to see the passing events.

After a few stunned moments, Kiseki called out to the mist, "Well, ignoring the fact that you just did what I thought wasn't possible, I know what you're trying to do now. Sure, I can't see, but you're at the same disadvantage." Kiseki swept his eyes across the mist in front of him. I knew it was no good, he couldn't see anything.

He took a cautious step back but then froze when he heard someone from behind whisper in his ear, "Oh really?"

Kiseki's pupils shrunk, "N-Natsume?" He whipped his head around in time to see Natsume take a step back. Kiseki looked at his cousin in utter disbelief. A coil of flames came to life at Kiseki's feet and snaked their way around him, rendering him immobile. "H-how?"

"I'm just 'melding the smoke into my sword' is all," Natsume quoted dismissively.

Kiseki appeared to be trying to ignite his own flame to absorb Natsume's chains. "It's no use," Natsume explained. "This is my _special_ brand of fire. Being a lab rat for the Black Ops has its uses too."

The brown haired boy looked dumbfounded. He stared up at his crimson eyed cousin. He was defeated.

"Souma," Natsume began, "I don't care if you ripped out my brains and stole my intellect. You can have my fangirls anyday, they're just a nuisance. Take my badge. I don't give a damn if someone stole my Alice right now and gave it to you. I was being honest when I said I never wanted it. Also, with that Alice you could be in the Dangerous Ability any day. I don't care if you take everything away."

Kiseki looked beyond surprised at this outburst. He merely stared at his opponent. "Just don't," Natsume continued, a pleading voice now escaping his lips, "don't _ever_ take Mikan away from me." I blinked. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks again. He'd go that far... for me? The tears rolled down my face. I sniffed and smiled.

Natsume's eyes pierced Kiseki's with a passion. Kiseki tore his eyes away and looked down. Then he chuckled humourlessly, "Alright, alright you've proven your point. I honestly didn't think it was possible for someone like you to love a girl so much other than Aoi. But Mikan is in good hands." He smiled.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked Kiseki. "All you have to do now is burn me. You're even in a position to give me second degree burns. As long as they aren't third degree they're allowed."

Natsume didn't move. Kiseki looked up at him questioningly. "No."

Kiseki looked bewildered, "What? Why?"

The flames binding Kiseki faded away. "Believe me, I'd love to give you second degree burns. But I can't do that. It's not just because you're my cousin," Natsume held out a hand. "It's because you make her happy." Kiseki took it and Natsume hoisted him up. "I could never burn someone who makes her smile." Natsume...

The mist was already beginning to clear. I could see the two figures facing each other. The battle was over.

"I won't burn you," Natsume seemed to continue as an after thought, "but I will do this." And without warning he reared his fists and punched Kiseki square in the jaw. I gasped, speechless. "That's for kissing my girlfriend and making her cry."

Rubbing his chin, Kiseki cracked his head a few times and looked back at Natsume, "Yeah, I guess I did deserve that." Natsume death stared him. "Ok, ok! You let me off easy. Don't worry, I'll never pull something like that again." Natsume seemed satisfied, just barely.

"Do you want to try it all again?" Kiseki asked.

There was a brief pause. Natsume nodded then said carefully, "You're nice to Mikan. I want to be friends."

He held out his hand again. Kiseki took it and they shook, "Yeah. That'd be nice."

I was crying happy tears for them. I knew it. I just knew they'd be best friends. Well, maybe those were high expectations... At least they're friends.

Natsume dropped Kiseki's hand and turned towards the hedge in which we were hiding. He was look directly at us. Did he know we were here? I was beginning to feel nervous.

"Now," he said pointedly, "come out, come out wherever you are."

* * *

**Weeeeee! Almost done *sniff*, I hope you liked the fight scene, I had heaps of fun writing it! Reading back now, I wish it were longer too T-T**

**Originally that punch wasn't meant to be in there, but I threw it in for good measure, realising they hadn't hit each other once in the entire fight.**

**Well, they have been discovered... see what happens in the next and final chapter, CHAPTER 21: ALL MINE NOW (mini spoiler)**

**You guys are gonna have to wait and extra day for the last/epilogue chapter since I'm busy the whole of tomorrow (staying at school 'til 9:30pm...yeah)**

**I WOULD ADORE REVIEWS IN CASE I GET INSPIRED TO POST THE LAST CHAPTER TOMORROW MORNING BEFORE I LEAVE!**


	22. Chapter 21: ALL MINE NOW

***Sniff* this is the last chapter of The New and The Old (what a crappy name, huh? I forced myself to think of it when I posted it)**

**Thanks all for reading and reviewing and favouriting and story alerting and what not.**

**I'm feeling really accomplished right now. I even posted it all the week before exams DX**

**Anywayyyyyy, I hope you all enjoy the last chapter :))**

CHAPTER 21: ALL MINE NOW

I felt a hand push my back and, being all tied up as I was, I clumsily fell out of the bushes and flat onto my face. I could hear shuffling behind me and the leaves rustling. I dragged my head up from the floor and blinked twice.

I saw Natsume looking at us with his arms crossed. Caught out, we were. I guess he knew we were there the entire time. Kiseki-kun on the other hand seemed rightfully surprised. He was leaning back, his arms in front of him, as the party emerged from the shrubbery one by one.

"Eh?" Kiseki exclaimed in surprise. "Mikan! Imai-san... Ruka-kun... even Koko?" Shortly after I had fallen from the bushes, Hotaru had calmly followed, still holding tightly onto my leash. Ruka timidly emerged and next came Koko who waved fondly at Kiseki.

"I-y-bu-wh-what?" He had a look of complete and utter confusion on his face and frankly, I couldn't blame him. If I had just recovered from a heated argument and fight to see three random people climb out of a hedge, I'd be confused too.

He stopped for a moment to gather his senses. We waited for him to process everything and when he seemed satisfied at his logic, he raised his head and asked, "So, were you guys there that whole time?"

Koko nodded in response and exclaimed, "Yeah! That's was sooo cool! That move you did with the two fires and then you merged them and then the ting-wut and then the shoooom!" He was making strange motions with his hands in a failing attempt to mimic Kiseki's earlier actions.

He registered Koko's reply and bowed his head gravely, "I-I'm sorry you had to see me... say all those things."

Hotaru shook her head, "No, it made really good footage." She pulled out a stack of papers out of nowhere, "Now, if you don't mind me publishing select scenes from the recent events for commercial purposes, please fill out these papers." Everyone's sweat dropped.

"No way, man," Koko was still giddy, " that was epic! You entertained me more than a week of everyone's thoughts." Everyone's sweat dropped again.

Kiseki turned to me. I looked back at him and a blanket of awkward silence fell upon us. Hotaru, Koko and Ruka were slowly inching away while a dark aura was radiating from Natsume. "Mikan, I..." he began but I cut him off.

"It's alright, Kiseki-kun," I smiled and looked up at him. He was surprised. "Friends have to be accepting of friends. I'm just glad no one got hurt. It's alright." His surprised look turned into a weak smile and he nodded in acknowledgement.

Ruka agreed with me and ran towards his best friend. "Natsume you idiot! I was worrying so much. Don't do such reckless things."

But it all backfired on Ruka when Natsume said, "Says the guy who fell into a fountain trying to impress Aoi." I had heard about that event a few weeks ago. I thought it was kind of cute. Ruka's face turned into a red mess and he was forced to sulk in a corner.

But then I barged in. I stepped towards Natsume and pointed an accusing finger at him, "Don't dismiss him! You made me worry too. Picking fights like that, it's no good. You shouldn't ever -"

"Yeah, yeah. Lecture me later. You're my prize for winning right now." He gazed at me, his crimson eyes reflecting the light of the afternoon sun. I blushed... again.

"N-Natsume," I started then I looked up at him determinedly, "thank you." He was trying to protect me this whole time. I was glad that he was patient with Kiseki. He didn't hurt him either, except for that punch (which I guess he _did_ deserve). He was thinking of me the whole time. I was grateful.

Suddenly, and without notice, he pulled me into a tight embrace. He pressed my head against his chest and held me there for who knows how long. I was thankful that everyone was doing their own thing right now. Koko had gone over to Ruka who was still sulking in the corner and trying to comfort him. Kiseki and Hotaru were arguing about the content of the footage and the papers she was making him sign. It appeared that Kiseki was less than happy with the things Hotaru wanted to share with the public.

No one was minding us. With that in mind I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth radiating from Natsume's arms. So much had happened in the last few... was it only hours? So much confusion and conflicting feelings that made me want to burst out crying like I did in Aoi's shop. But that was all over now.

Being in Natsume's arms reassured me that it was all okay now. He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "You're definitely all mine now."

I looked up at his face and teased lightly, "Possesive freak."

The gap between our faces disappeared. This was nothing like the kiss with Kiseki. It wasn't full of confusion and other feelings. Just love, passion... and relief. Understanding where we were, we pulled away from each other. For a while we just stared at each other.

"Oh come on, Ruka," Koko insisted, "Come, I'll buy you a chocolate bar from the vending machine, you'll cheer up quick after that." With that, Koko dragged Ruka back through the bushes and towards the main buildings.

"NO WAY WILL YOU BE SHOWING THAT TO EVERYONE!" Kiseki was outraged.

"Fine," Hotaru seemed to have come to a conclusion, "if you follow me to my lab, I'll review the paperwork." Hotaru got up and stalked off towards her lab, Kiseki following helplessly behind her.

"We should be going too," I said as I took hold of Natsume's hand. The sun was already setting and the sky was a splendid mix of pinks and yellows. Natsume nodded and we walked off hand in hand towards the horizon.

**~~~~~~~~~ *The Next Day *~~~~~~~~~~**

"You know, Kiseki-kun," I said thoughtfully, "I thought Natsume was stuck-up and mean when I first came to the academy, too."

We were in homeroom and the teacher had let us have the lesson to ourselves. Everyone was busy chatting or entertaining themselves in some way or another.

"Oh really?" he asked with interest.

"You don't know how many times I felt like slapping him," I said, remembering all those incidents. "He tried to burn my hair so many times, it wasn't funny. I'm lucky to have the Nullification Alice."

I began to recount the numerous incidents between me and Natsume in our childhood. Kiseki listened keenly. He laughed so many times at some of the less-than-ideal situations we got ourselves into.

"You really are trouble, Mikan," he chuckled as the bell rang. I pouted.

"So when's my next tutoring lesson?" I asked as I grabbed my books.

"Oh," Kiseki seemed like he just remembered something, "You're tutoring's finished. We've already caught up to the current curriculum so you won't be needing me anymore."

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah, that was sorta why I prepared the surprise yesterday afternoon..." he trailed off at the last bit. It was awkward talking about that because of how it turned out and everything.

I thought hard. I had really caught up with all my maths. Kiseki truly was a miracle worker. "Well in that case," I suggested, "We're visiting Aoi tomorrow – Natsume, Ruka, Koko and I – you should come with us."

Kiseki nodded and said he'd be there. He picked up his books and turned to me, "You know, I think I got it wrong."

I gave him a look of asking. He elaborated, "Natsume didn't make you fall in love with him. Instead, he fell in love with you." I nearly dropped my books at the sudden statement.

He headed towards the door, leaving me beside the desk. "Well, I've got to go to training," he explained. Before disappearing completely I heard him say, "See you around."

My shock faded into a smile as I understood what he meant. I mumbled softly, "Yeah, see you around."

**FIN**

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Sorry about the weak ending... I suck at them. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO REVIEW THIS STORY AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK, YOU CAN ONLY REVIEW EACH CHAPPIE ONCE SO WRITE AS MUCH AS YOU WANT :)

I've been thinking of ideas for sequels, side stories and oneshots. But then there's the other matter of whether I end up doing them or not. I'll probably be idle for a while thanks to exams but I will be reading reviews (Y)

Thanks again guys!


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